PSEi resumes slump on Russia-Ukraine crisis

MANILA, Philippines — Much like other equity markets worldwide, local shares fell at the end of midweek trading as the world watched in horror while Russia continued to besiege Ukraine.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index lost 1.36% to close at 7,304.02 on Wednesday. The broader All Shares index dropped 1.03% while most of the sub-indices landed in the red save for mining and oil shares, which were boosted by 1.43%.

For Michael Enriquez, chief investment officer at Sun Life Investment Management and Trust Corp, the volatility surrounding Russia's invasion of Ukraine should be expected.

"The PSEi just followed the risk off sentiment coming from the US Markets overnight as well as the correction across all Asian markets today. We expect this volatile trend to continue as markets digest the Russia-Ukraine tensions," he said in a Viber message.

Russia's decision to invade Ukraine left Putin and his cohort isolated after a smattering of financial and economic sanctions imposed by the West, which include the ruble's crash in value, multinational companies cutting ties with Moscow, and credit card companies blocking Russian banks from transacting.

The invasion also set off a brutal week for crude oil prices globally, as it breached the $110 per barrel mark this week.

"Hope it doesn't escalate to a full-blown war which can further cause a selloff," Enriquez added.

Luis Limlingan, head of sales for local brokerage Regina Capital, agreed with Enriquez, noting that the geopolitical crisis "stirred anxiety" among investors despite positive domestic economic developments.

"Local data was strong but wasn’t enough to calm down fears overseas," Limlingan said in a Viber message.

Asian equity markets were not immune to the ill-effects of war. Wall Street and European markets tumbled Tuesday and the losses largely flowed through to Asia, which had enjoyed two days of relative calm though the selling was not as severe.

Tokyo and Hong Kong also lost more than 1%, while Mumbai shed 2%. There were also losses in Shanghai, Singapore, Taipei, Jakarta, Bangkok and Wellington. However, Sydney and Seoul eked out marginal gains.

At home, foreign investors sold P295.42 million more shares than they bought in the stock market. A total of 1.43 billion local shares, valued at P7.78 billion, switched hands on Wednesday. — with AFP