PHILIPPINE share prices swung back to red territory yesterday as investor sentiment was dragged by the decline in the country’s manufacturing output as well as sell-off overnight on Wall Street due to the threat posed by COVID-19.
The benchmark PSEi shed 66.21 points or 1.22 percent to 5,342.31 at the closing bell. The broader All Shares lost 40.33 points or 1.23 percent to 3,238.48.
“The contraction in the Philippine manufacturing activity and the cues from Wall Street pulled the local market down,” Philstocks Financial said in a daily market report.
The Philippine Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell sharply to record its weakest performance so far in the IHS Markit monthly survey, dragged by the factory shutdowns brought about by the spread of COVID-19.
The IHS Markit Philippines PMI fell to 39.7 in March, down from 52.3 in February and 51.5 in March 2019.
The PMI is a composite indicator of the manufacturing sector’s performance, with 50.0 as the threshold. A reading above 50 indicates growth and below 50 is a contraction.
On the other hand, Wall Street’s three major indexes fell more than 4 percent on Wednesday, after President Donald Trump’s dire warning on the US death toll from the coronavirus sent investors running from even the most defensive equities.
More than 384.018 million shares valued at P4.403 billion, changed hands. Decliners led advancers, 126 to 54, and 35 issues were unchanged.(GMA News)
