The stock market fell slightly Tuesday in another lackluster trading as investors weigh the damage from the 6.1 magnitude earthquake that rocked Luzon Monday.
The Philippine Stock Exchange Index slipped 13.50 points, or 0.2 percent, to 7,818.93 on a value turnover of P6.6 billion. Losers beat gainers, 120 to 72, with 47 issues unchanged.
The earthquake felt at 5:11 p.m. sent thousands of people fleeing buildings in Metro Manila as high-rise buildings swayed, as they are designed to do during temblor. The quake caused serious damage to Clark International Airport.
Alliance Global Group Inc. of tycoon Andrew Tan dropped 2.9 percent to P14.56, while Globe Telecom Inc., the second-biggest telecommunications firm, declined 2.6 percent to P1,830.
Conglomerate Ayala Corp. dipped 1.9 percent to P865, but Wilcon Depot Inc., a leading home improvement and construction material supplier, rose 4.6 percent to P17.
Stocks, meanwhile, were mixed in the rest of Asia Tuesday as investors move cautiously ahead of a deluge of corporate results later in the week.
With all markets now open again after an extended Easter break, many fluctuated in morning trade but rallied by the afternoon.
Tokyo stocks ended marginally up for a third straight session, with profit-taking before 10 days of holidays in Japan weighing on the market.
Seoul, Sydney, and Mumbai gained while Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Singapore were down.
Investors are waiting for a number of major earnings releases expected this week, including Amazon, Facebook, Microsoft, Exxon Mobil, and automaker Tesla.
“Some of the world’s biggest technology companies are reporting earnings this week as well as a raft of the big European banks,” Nick Twidale, chief operating officer at Rakuten Securities Australia, said in a note to clients.
“Investors will be hoping for some better-than-expected results from both groups to keep the topside momentum in global equities, however, if the data starts to show a significant slowing across these key industries then expect both stocks and risk trades to start to come under some heavy pressure.”
Aerospace giant Boeing will report earnings on Wednesday for the first time since a deadly March 10 plane crash plunged the company into crisis-mode.
Financial analysts have already slashed their 2019 profit forecasts after Boeing announced earlier in April it was cutting its monthly production of the 737 by about 20 percent.
Separately, Sri Lankan stocks plunged by 2.6 percent”•their biggest drop in four years”•as the Colombo Stock Exchange reopened for trading after terror attacks on Easter Sunday killed more than 300 people.
While equity traders were generally cautious, oil prices continued their rally on Tuesday, jumping to near six-month highs after the US cracked down on Iranian oil exports.
The White House announced Monday it was calling an end to six-month waivers that had exempted countries from unilateral US sanctions on Iranian oil exports.
Starting in May, these countries”•China, India, Turkey, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Italy and Greece”•would face sanctions if they continue to buy the oil. With AFP