PSEi snaps winning run amid US recession fears

Philippine stocks snapped their six-day winning streak on Tuesday, joining the decline in global markets, amid recession fears in the United States.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) dropped by 2.42% or 154.22 points to close at 6,206.55 on Tuesday, while the broader all shares index fell by 1.71% or 64.33 points to 3,684.59.

“The local bourse broke its six-day rally, weighed by negative spillovers from Wall Street. This comes amid recession fears in the US driven by their tariff policies,” Philstocks Financial, Inc. Senior Research Analyst Japhet Louis O. Tantiangco said in a Viber message.

“Philippine shares were sold down, fueled by investor worries that uncertainty surrounding tariff policies could lead the global economy into a recession. Concerns about the US have been escalating over the past month and was amplified by recent comments from the White House,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said in a Viber message.

Emerging market (EM) stocks remained under pressure on Tuesday, as concerns over a US economic slowdown which could lead to a recession weighed on equities, Reuters reported.

MSCI’s index for EM stocks was down 0.4% by 0832 GMT, with South Korean shares closing more than 1% lower, though a higher close in China and Hong Kong helped offset some losses.

Wall Street sold off sharply overnight, with the S&P 500 closing down 8.6% from its Feb. 19 record high, shedding over $4 trillion in market value since then and nearing a 10% decline that would represent a correction for the index.

US President Donald J. Trump’s tariff plans have stoked market volatility after the president late last week suspended the 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods which had come into effect on March 4. He had initially announced tariffs earlier this year and then postponed them by a month to early March.

Over the weekend, Mr. Trump declined to predict whether the US could face a recession, spurring a selloff in risk assets worldwide.

All sectoral indices closed in the red on Tuesday. Property sank by 4.45% or 102.72 points to 2,203.89; services retreated by 3.33% or 70.03 points to 2,031.68; industrials dropped by 2.13% or 189.30 points to 8,692.13; holding firms decreased by 1.77% or 94.02 points to 5,198.99; mining and oil went down by 1.75% or 156.03 points to 8,739.41; and financials declined by 0.78% or 18.63 points to 2,360.10.

“Only three index members closed with gains this Tuesday, led by Bank of the Philippine Islands, climbing 0.68% to PHP 132.80,” Mr. Tantiangco said.

Value turnover rose to PHP 7.71 billion on Tuesday with 753.65 million shares traded from the PHP 6.41 billion with 627.42 million issues exchanged on Monday.

Decliners overwhelmed advancers, 157 versus 58, while 41 names closed unchanged.

Net foreign selling stood at PHP 350.28 million on Tuesday versus the PHP 1.41 billion in net buying seen on Monday. — R.M.D. Ochave with Reuters