PSEi sinks to 5,800 range after Israel, Iran strikes

THE MAIN STOCK benchmark dropped to the 5,800 level again on Monday as an escalation in the Middle East conflict roiled markets, driving investors out of risk assets.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) dropped by 0.99% or 58.97 points to close at 5,879.41, while the broader all shares index fell by 0.96% or 32 points to end at 3,302.31.

“The PSEi closed lower as selling pressure mirrored sharp declines across regional markets. Risk appetite weakened amid heightened geopolitical uncertainty following reports of renewed strikes involving Iran. These developments kept investors defensive, reinforcing a risk-averse market tone,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said in a Viber message.

“The local market declined as tensions reignite in the Middle East. This comes following the exchange of military strikes between Iran and Israel. The tensions also caused global oil prices to rise and the local currency to depreciate within the day,” Philstocks Financial, Inc. Research Manager Japhet Louis O. Tantiangco said in a Viber message.

Global stocks declined on Monday as fresh hostilities in the Middle East pushed up oil prices, Reuters reported.

Escalating conflict in the Middle East is hurting sentiment after Israel said it struck military targets in western and central Iran, pushing Brent crude futures 5% higher.

In Asia, the decline in equity markets was starker. South Korea’s chip-heavy KOSPI, the world’s best-performing market this year, led losses with an 8.3% slide that has the benchmark down over 16% from last week’s record high.

Nasdaq futures were attempting a recovery following a sharp sell-off on Friday when the index dropped 4.2%.

Meanwhile, the Philippine peso fell by 22 centavos to close at P61.69 versus the dollar from P61.47 on Friday, data from the Bankers Association of the Philippines showed.

All sectoral indices closed in the red. Mining and oil slid by 4.03% or 711.06 points to 16,902.72; financials sank by 1.92% or 35.06 points to 1,782.44; property dropped by 1.28% or 23.73 points to 1,821.84; holding firms fell by 1.02% or 44.42 points to 4,285.37; industrials retreated by 0.78% or 65.22 points to 8,294.94; and services slipped by 0.11% or 3.69 points to 3,086.61.

Decliners overwhelmed advancers, 133 to 53, while 55 names closed unchanged.

“There were only six index gainers for the day led by the Manila Electric Co., rising 1.44% to P564. DigiPlus Interactive Corp. was the main index laggard, plunging 6.04% to P9.96,” Mr. Tantiangco said.

Value turnover went down to P6.45 billion on Monday with 551.58 million shares traded from the P7.25 billion with 489.7 million issues on Friday.

Net foreign selling increased to P754.31 million from P103.73 million in the previous session. — Alexandria Grace C. Magno