spot_img
29 C
Philippines
Thursday, March 28, 2024

Stock mart extends slump; MPIC climbs

- Advertisement -

Stocks slumped for a seventh day, as an unexpected drop in Chinese exports undermined confidence in the global economy while Federal Reserve minutes stoked fresh talk of a US rate hike before the year’s end.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index, the 30-company benchmark, fell 117 points, or 1.6 percent, to close at 7,312.18 Thursday. This reduced total gains this year to 5.2 percent.

The broader all-share index also tumbled 60 points, or 1.4 percent, to settle at 4,369.60, on a value turnover of P8.8 billion.  Losers outnumbered gainers, 164 to 29, while 44 issues were unchanged.

All six sectors incurred losses, while only two of the 20 most active stocks ended in the green.  Metro Pacific Investments Corp. rose 2.4 percent to P7.20, while Security Bank Corp. gained 2.1 percent to P207.

Among heavy losers, DoubleDragon Properties Corp. fell 6.9 percent to P51.50, while Megaworld Corp. declined 5.5 percent to P4.11.

- Advertisement -

Meanwhile, Hong Kong shares tumbled 1.4 percent as of 3:37 p.m. in Tokyo. Futures on the S&P 500 Index and Euro Stoxx 50 were each down 0.6 percent. Treasuries rose the most in two weeks amid demand for the safest assets. The yen climbed 0.4 percent against the US currency, while the yuan weakened to near a six-year low. 

Crude oil continued to decline, falling below $50 a barrel. Thailand’s benchmark equity index headed for its lowest closing level since April.

Volatility is climbing as investors grapple with fresh evidence of a deepening slowdown in China, increasing bets on a US interest-rate hike and uncertainty spurred by Britain’s vote to leave the European Union. Minutes of the Federal Reserve’s last meeting released Wednesday reinforced the case for tighter monetary policy before the end of the year.

“Poor export numbers spark concern about the rest of the world’s economic outlook,” said Andrew Clarke, Hong Kong-based director of trading at Mirabaud Asia Ltd. “Sentiment is already pretty pessimistic, with Brexit and the sterling, the yuan looking vulnerable, the property bubble in China, looming cash calls from mainland banks and of course, who becomes the next US president.”

Troubled Samsung Electronics staged a slight recovery on bargain-buying after losing about 10 percent of its value this week on the Galaxy Note 7 crisis.

China said exports plunged more than predicted last month, disappointing markets after a recent upbeat reading on factory activity. In yuan terms it snapped six straight months of increases. Imports also fell, confounding predictions for a rise. With AFP, Bloomberg

- Advertisement -

LATEST NEWS

Popular Articles