Stock retreat anew as investors take profit

MANILA, Philippines — The market rally on Thursday was short-lived as investors decided to cash in on recent gains.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) fell again to 5,266.62, down 134.96 points or 2.49 percent while the broader All Shares index also slipped, losing 31.32 points or 0.96 percent to end at 3,219.50.

All other gauges were down as well with big losses. Decliners were led by the property sector which lost 4.63 percent, trailed by financials which lost 3.01 percent.

Total value turnover reached P7.952 billion. Market breadth, however, was positive, with 101 advancers  against 90 decliners while 36 issues were left unchanged.

Luis Limlingan of Regina Capital said shares were sold ahead of the weekend as investors worried about the the release of record-breaking initial jobless claims while the US Senate passed a massive economic stimulus bill amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

“Fed Chairman Jerome Powell acknowledged in a rare statement that the US is in recession, before the release of the actual data. He also made it clear the Fed will keep credit flowing,” he said.

Powell said that when it comes to this lending “we’re not going to run out of ammunition. He said economic activity “would decline probably substantially in the second quarter.

At the same time he said the coronavirus disease or COVID-19 should be brought under control before people get back to work. A rebound is likely sometime in the second half of the year, Powell said.