Philippine stocks slide as Middle East conflict continues

Philippine shares closed lower on Tuesday as the lack of a resolution to the Middle East conflict and a weak peso continued to drag sentiment.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) dropped by 0.98% or 61.15 points to close at 6,190.23, while the broader all shares index fell by 0.65% or 22.45 points to end at 3,412.44.

“The local market fell as investors sold off amid the lack of a positive catalyst. Concerns over the US-Iran situation, which is now turning into an economic warfare, with Iran’s trading partners possibly getting hit by the US’ latest campaign, is also weighing on sentiment,” Philstocks Financial, Inc. Research Manager Japhet Louis O. Tantiangco said in a Viber message.

“The PSEi was broadly weak, with 21 index names closing in the red while only six managed to post gains. Investors likely remained cautious amid persistent weakness in the local currency and heightened geopolitical concerns following reports of additional US financial sanctions on Iran,” COL Financial Group Research Analyst Denise Joaquin said in a Viber message.

US President Donald J. Trump’s administration on Monday warned countries to cut their business ties with Iran or face secondary sanctions as part of what it billed as an “economic D-Day,” but the Treasury Department stopped short of actually imposing penalties, Reuters reported.

As the war with Iran nears its six-month mark, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the US was launching an “economic onslaught” against Iran’s financial connections around the globe. But he declined to say what specific countries would be targeted, or when those penalties would take effect.

Mr. Bessent said the US was expanding the scope of commercial activities that could be subject to secondary sanctions in five sectors of the Iranian economy: digital assets, gold, technology, aviation and shipping.

The peso slipped by 0.8 centavo to close at PHP 61.738 against the dollar on Tuesday from PHP 61.73 on Monday, Bankers Association of the Philippines data showed.

All sectoral indices closed in the red. Services slid by 1.65% or 55.74 points to 3,324.55; holding firms sank by 1.05% or 47.07 points to 4,435.46; mining and oil dropped by 0.77% or 153.62 points to 19,810.63; financials fell by 0.65% or 12.52 points to 1,924.63; property retreated by 0.26% or 4.91 points to 1,898.16; and industrial went down by 0.06% or 5.28 points to 8,150.98.

Decliners outnumbered advancers, 108 to 77, while 66 names were unchanged.

“There are only five index gainers for the day led by Ayala Land, Inc., rising 3.95% to PHP 15.80. RL Commercial REIT, Inc. was the main index laggard, falling 4% to PHP 7.20,” Mr. Tantiangco said.

Value turnover increased to PHP 5.27 billion on Tuesday with 800.44 million shares traded from the PHP 4.97 billion with 1.25 billion issues that changed hands on Monday.

Net foreign selling increased to PHP 542.12 million from PHP 82.3 million. — A.G.C. Magno with Reuters