Stocks plunged again Thursday to a 20-month low in step with an Asian-wide sell-off as Beijing weakened the value of the yuan currency by the most since August.
The Philippine Stock Exchange Index tumbled 195.02 points, or 2.9 percent, to 6,618.88 on a value turnover of P5.4 billion. Losers routed gainers, 162 to 22, with 26 issues unchanged. The index sank to its lowest since April 28, 2014, when it closed at 6,604.35.
Ayala Land Inc., the second-biggest property developer, lost 2.6 percent to P32.25, while rival SM Prime Holdings Inc., the largest integrated real estate company, dropped 3.3 percent to P20.50.
Megaworld Corp., the third-biggest developer, plummeted 5.5 percent to P3.94, while JG Summit Holdings Inc. of industrialist John Gokongwei, fell 4.9 percent to P66.60.
Jollibee Foods Corp., the largest fastfood chain, tumbled 4.2 percent to P205.
Chinese markets, meanwhile, were suspended Thursday for the second day this week after they fell more than seven percent.
In a painful echo of the summer rout that wiped trillions of dollars off valuations, mainland investors sold up on fears about the world’s number two economy, a key driver of global growth.
The losses mark one of the worst starts to a trading year for decades as nerves are shedded by a perfect storm of weak global growth—particularly in China—a slump in oil prices to more than 11-year lows and geopolitical tensions.
Regulators in China called an end to trade within just 30 minutes of opening after the central bank weakened the value of its yuan currency by 0.51 percent against the dollar.
The carnage in China has seeped through to global markets this week and Asian trading floors continued to see red. Hong Kong slumped three percent in the afternoon and while Tokyo shed 2.2 percent by the close.
Sydney—where several firms with trade links to China are listed—lost 2.2 percent and Seoul was 1.1 percent off. There were also big losses in Singapore, Taipei and Manila.
That followed more big losses across US and European bourses.
The drop in China’s stocks was the biggest since August when the value was cut by five percent in a week—sparking weeks of global market turmoil over worries Beijing did not have a handle on its economic crisis. The yuan is now at its weakest in five years. With AFP