The stock market fell Friday along with the rest of Asia and oil rose as news that Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant had been hit by Russian shelling fueled a flight to safety and ramped up fears about the Ukraine war.
The Philippine Stock Exchange Index fell 46.08 points, or 0.6 percent, to 7,342.01 on a value turnover of P5.2 billion. Losers beat gainers, 102 to 89, with 44 issues unchanged.
SM Investments Corp. of the Sy Group declined 2.6 percent to P932, while Semirara Mining and Power Corp., the biggest coal miner, was down 2.4 percent to P31.90.
Nickel Asia Corp., the largest coal miner, however, rose 1.8 percent to P8.30, while PLDT Inc., the biggest telecommunications firm, added 1.1 percent to P1,850.
The rest of Asian markets tumbled Friday.
As Vladimir Putin’s forces stepped up their invasion, Ukraine’s foreign minister demanded an immediate ceasefire to avoid disaster at the Zaporizhzhia plant after its power unit was hit.
While Ukrainian authorities said a fire that broke out had been extinguished and no radiation leak had been detected, traders remain on edge.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of “nuclear terror.”
Moscow has been pressing ahead with its incursion into its neighbor that has sent global markets spiraling and commodities such as wheat, metals and particularly oil soaring. That has, in turn, fueled concerns the global recovery from COVID-19 will be derailed.
Tokyo and Hong Kong led losses across Asia while Sydney, Shanghai, Seoul, Singapore, Mumbai, Taipei, Bangkok and Wellington were also well down.
The dollar dipped against the safe-haven yen though it rose against most other currencies, including sitting at its highest level against the euro since mid-2020.
Gold―a go-to asset in times of uncertainty―was also up.
At the same time, both main crude contracts rose, having retreated Thursday partly on hopes for an Iran nuclear deal that would allow Tehran to restart exports to the world market. However, they were off their earlier highs in afternoon Asian trade.
While world governments have not included Russian oil in their wide-ranging sanctions on Moscow owing to concerns about the impact on prices and consumers, trade has become increasingly tough as banks pull financing and shipping costs rise.
On Friday, the China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) said it will suspend business related to Russia and its neighbor Belarus, saying it was “in the best interests of the bank.”
“The headlines about the Russian shelling of that nuclear plant are clearly driving a flight to quality trade,” Chamath de Silva at BetaShares Holdings in Sydney said. “It’s classic risk off right now.”
Others pointed out that the war has exacerbated selling by profit-takers after world markets enjoyed a near two-year rally thanks to pandemic-era financial support.
Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron said he fears the “worst is to come” after a conversation with Putin, who has said he intends to topple the government in Kyiv. With AFP