Philippine shares slip as Trump tariff concerns weigh

PHilippine shares slipped further on Wednesday as losses on Wall Street due to the Trump administration’s trade policies spilled over to the domestic market.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) shed 0.18% or 11.29 points to end at 6,195.26 on Wednesday, while the broader all shares index inched down by 0.07% or 2.79 points to 3,681.80.

“The market fell further as investors took cues from Wall Street’s fall, driven by recession fears and cautious trading ahead of the release of the US inflation report,” Philstocks Financial, Inc. Senior Research Analyst Japhet Louis O. Tantiangco said in a Viber message.

“The market slipped anew on continued concerns about Trump’s erratic trade policy and a potential slowdown in the US economy,” China Bank Capital Corp. Managing Director Juan Paolo E. Colet said in a Viber message.

Wall Street closed lower on Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average index fell by 1.14% or 478.23 points to 41,433.48; the S&P 500 index sank by 0.76% or 42.49 points to 5,572.07; and the Nasdaq Composite index lost 0.18% or 32.22 points to end at 17,436.10.

US President Donald J. Trump’s increased tariffs on all US steel and aluminum imports took effect on Wednesday, stepping up a campaign to reorder global trade in favor of the US and drawing swift retaliation from Europe, Reuters reported.

Mr. Trump’s action to bulk up protections for American steel and aluminum producers restores effective global tariffs of 25% on all imports of the metals.

Mr. Trump’s hyper-focus on tariffs since taking office in January has rattled investor, consumer and business confidence in ways that economists worry could cause a US recession and further lag on the global economy.

Mr. Trump initially threatened Canada with doubling the duty to 50% on its steel and aluminum exports to the US but backed off after Ontario province suspended a move to impose a 25% surcharge on electricity exports to the states of Minnesota, Michigan and New York.

Meanwhile, February US consumer price index data were set to be released overnight.

Sectoral indices ended mixed on Wednesday. Services declined by 1.26% or 25.62 points to 2,006.06; mining and oil retreated by 0.8% or 70.36 points to 8,669.05; and financials went down by 0.63% or 15.04 points to 2,345.06.

Meanwhile, property increased by 1.24% or 27.41 points to 2,231.3; industrials climbed by 0.44% or 38.73 points to 8,730.86; and holding firms rose by 0.07% or 3.7 points to 5,202.69.

Value turnover declined to P5.98 billion on Wednesday with 741.54 million issues traded from the PHP 7.71 billion with 753.65 million shares exchanged on Tuesday.

Decliners outnumbered advancers, 127 versus 77, while 40 names were unchanged.

Net foreign buying stood at P2.62 million on Wednesday versus the PHP 350.28 million in net selling recorded on Tuesday. — R.M.D. Ochave with Reuters