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Richmond Mercurio - The Philippine Star
March 12, 2025 | 12:00am
The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index snapped a six-day winning streak, plunging by 2.42 percent or 154.22 points to 6,206.55.
STAR / File
MANILA, Philippines — Local stocks nosedived following a drop in US equities due to recession fears.
The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index snapped a six-day winning streak, plunging by 2.42 percent or 154.22 points to 6,206.55.
Also taking a huge hit was the broader All Shares index, which fell by 1.72 percent or 64.33 points to 3,684.59.
AP Securities research head Alfred Benjamin Garcia said that the timing of the market’s decline implied that investors were wary of political instability following the arrest of former President Duterte.
“It’s most likely a knee-jerk reaction, but we’ll have to see how the situation develops over the coming days,” Garcia said.
Garcia said that yesterday’s drop was further aggravated by recession fears in the US in the wake of Donald Trump’s trade war.
Regina Capital’s Luis Limlingan said concerns about the US have been escalating over the past month and were amplified by recent comments from the White House.
“US began the trading week lower as tariff policy uncertainty fueled recession fears, with President Trump not ruling it out,” he said.
An active trading session was recorded yesterday, with net value turnover increasing to P6.94 billion from the previous day’s P5.32 billion.
Foreigners were net sellers, with net outflows at P350.28 million.
All sectors were in the red, led by the property index, which plummeted by 4.45 percent.
Market breadth was negative as decliners battered advancers, 157 to 58, while 41 issues were unchanged.
Ayala Land was the top traded company, declining by 6.17 percent to P22.05 per share, followed by ICTSI with a 5.38-percent drop to P369.
Among index members, GT Capital lost the most, posting a 6.89-percent plunge.
