Share prices are expected to continue sideways with a downward bias this week, with the coronavirus (COVID-19) fears still weighing on investor sentiments.
The equities markets have shown some signs of recovery last week but analysts said they will continue to struggle in sustaining a rally amid the risks brought about by virus.
The Department of Health on Saturday reported six cases of COVID-19 infection in the country. It also raised the COVID alert system to Code Red, Sub-level 1.
The government assured the public that it was prepared to respond to an outbreak of the virus.
Philstocks Financial Inc. said concerns over the COVID-19 would continue to weigh on investor sentiments with the additional cases reported in the country and the confirmation of local transmission.
The Philippine Stock Exchange Index last week dropped 0.3 percent to 6,770.28 points, while the boarder All Shares Index declined 0.6 percent to 4,039.55 on volatile trading.
Except for the property index which climbed 1.4 percent, all other counters ended in the red, led by industrial which declined 2.8 percent, mining and oil which dropped 2.6 percent, and services which fell 1.5 percent. The financial index also dipped 0.6 percent while holding firms slipped 0.2 percent.
Foreign investors were net sellers for the week by P2.5 billion, while the average daily value traded stood at P6 billon, down from the previous week’s average of P8.6 billion.
Weekly top price gainers were Metro Pacific Investments Corp., which jumped 18 percent to P4.70; Robinsons Land Corp., which advanced 9.4 percent to P23.30; and PLDT Inc., which rose 6.9 percent to P1,059.
Weekly top price losers were First Gen Corp., which fell 19.3 percent to P14.80; LT Group Inc., which dropped 10.6 percent to P8; and Puregold Price Club Inc., which declined 7.9 percent to P34.05.
Global stocks, meanwhile, tumbled and oil prices collapsed Friday as investors panicked over the expected damage of the coronavirus to global economic growth.
Haven investments gold and the yen surged as the World Health Organization warned that the epidemic must be taken seriously.
At the close of trade, the Paris stock market was down by 4.1 percent, Frankfurt dived 3.4 percent, London shed 3.5 percent and Milan tumbled 3.7 percent in a fierce global markets selloff that began about two weeks ago.
Wall Street stocks also suffered another bruising session, with petroleum producers and banks especially hard-hit, as the S&P 500 ended down 1.7 percent.
Oil, already slumping on virus-linked demand fears, extended losses to around 10 percent as Russia said it had failed to reach an agreement on possible cuts in output at a meeting with OPEC.
“Stocks are on the back foot once again, with markets tumbling amid continued growth in the coronavirus crisis,” said analyst Joshua Mahony at IG trading group.
“The stimulus-led rebound in global stocks has been short-lived, with fears over an escalation of the coronavirus crisis providing yet another bout of selling across European markets.” with AFP