Stocks plunge on renewed virus worries

MANILA, Philippines  —  Local stocks plunged along, with other Asian markets, yesterday as investors grew wary over the recent surge in coronavirus cases  while vaccination efforts are making scant headway, traders said.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index or PSEi shaved off 26.53 points or 0.40 percent to close at 6,518.64, while the broader All Shares index tumbled 10.39 points or 0.26 percent to end at 3,988.25.

Total value turnover was thin at P5.969 billion as market breadth was negative, 120 to 86,  while 48 issues were unchanged.

Likewise, net foreign selling persisted with P870 million.

“The local market fell as the number of COVID-19 cases continued to spike despite the reimposition of enhanced community quarantine for two weeks. Daily COVID-19 cases averaged more than 10,000 per day over the period,” AB Capital Securities said in a market commentary.

Even the government’s decision to relax  quarantine restrictions effective yesterday until the end of the month, putting Metro Manila and the rest of the NCR Plus bubble in modified enhanced community quarantine, failed to appease investors.

“The vaccine rollout remains slow in Asia, but what is more concerning is a renewed divergence in virus caseloads, with second waves taking hold in India, the Philippines and now Thailand,” Stephen Innes of Axi said in a report. That “continues to sully the global travel outlook,” he said.