Stocks falter for 3rd day on lingering coronavirus worries

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine stocks skidded yesterday along with other markets in Asia as a reality check set in about longtime economic damage from the coronavirus pandemic, giving Wall Street its worst day since October.

The main Philippine Stock Exchange index or PSEi lost 11.77 points or 0.17 percent to close at 6,851.84 while the broader All Shares gauge shed 22.98 points or 0.55 percent to finish at 4,108.34.

The drop in the PSEi came about also as the pandemic-battered Philippine economy suffered its steepest decline on record, shrinking by 9.5 percent in 2020.

Traders said the Asian region is looking ahead to earnings season for a read on how companies are faring amid COVID-19 infections, which have been relatively low in some nations such as New Zealand, compared to other global regions.

“Investors will likely focus on the pace of vaccinations around the globe while also keeping an eye on the progress of President Biden’s fiscal rescue plan that may be facing some roadblocks in the US Senate,” Prakash Sakpal and Nicholas Mapa, senior economists at ING, said in a report.

Vaccine rollouts have not progressed in Asia as quickly as they have in the West, and worries are growing about a tug-of-war for the products from Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca.

Aside from China, which has its own vaccine, innoculations have not started on a mass scale in Asia, although approvals have either been granted or are on their way in most places, including Australia and Japan.