Stock prices pull back on Israel-Iran conflict

MANILA, Philippines — The local stock market opened the week with pessimism, snapping a two-day wining streak amid escalating geopolitical tensions.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index fell by 0.58 percent or 37.01 points to end at 6,358.58.

The broader All Shares index also capped off the session in negative territory, declining by 0.45 percent or 16.86 points to 3,768.45.

“Philippine markets started the week in the red following the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, which rattled investors over the weekend,” Luis Limlingan of Regina Capital said.

“Meanwhile, many will be focusing on a new batch of data and meeting that could dictate price action movement,” he said.

In the United States, Limlingan said markets would focus on Tuesday’s retail sales and industrial production data, followed by Thursday’s Fed rate decision and projections.

“In the Philippines, April cash remittances are due Tuesday, while Thursday’s BSP (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) rate decision will be closely watched amid easing inflation and potential policy easing,” he said.

Sectoral gauges were a mixed bag, with mining and oil leading those in the win column with a 1.58-percent jump.

Holding firms and property, meanwhile, took the biggest hit, plunging by 1.19 percent each.

Trading kicked off the week strong, with turnover value reaching P8.82 billion.

Market breadth, however, was negative as decliners crushed advancers, 110 to 88, while 50 issues were unchanged.

DigiPlus was yesterday’s top traded stock, slipping by 0.72 percent to P62.35 per share, followed by BDO Unibank and Bloomberry Resorts which dropped by 1.06 percent and 2.59 percent, respectively, to P159 and P6.02.