Philippine Stock Exchange

Duterte’s lack of pandemic plan pushes down PH stocks

Ralf Rivas

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Duterte’s lack of pandemic plan pushes down PH stocks

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte delivers his 5th State of the Nation Address at the House of Representatives Complex in Quezon City on July 27, 2020. PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

Malacanang Photo

Shares go as low as 5,799 for the earlier part of Tuesday, July 28, before last-minute bargain hunting lifts the index to 5,927

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) settled below the 6,000 level as President Rodrigo Duterte skipped presenting a detailed recovery plan in his 5th State of the Nation Address

Shares went as low as 5,799 for the earlier part of Tuesday, July 28, before last-minute bargain hunting lifted the index to 5,927. (READ: Duterte’s threats have chilling effect on investors, warns business group)

Before the President’s speech on Monday, July 27, the PSEi crashed to the 5,800 level from the steady 6,000 level it maintained for weeks.

“For the earlier part of the day, the PSEi declined to as low as 5,799.11 due to the lack of a detailed plan on addressing the COVID-19 pandemic situation in the President’s State of the Nation Address yesterday, as well as worries over the possible reversion of NCR (National Capital Region) back to stricter quarantine measures as local cases near the 85,000 mark,” said Japhet Tantiangco of Philstocks.

Luis Limlingan of Regina Capital also saw the impact of Duterte’s speech, noting that investors were keeping an eye on how lawmakers “haggle over a coronavirus rescue plan.” He also noted that investors were tracking 2nd quarter company earnings.

Telco stocks were among the most actively traded on Tuesday, with Ayala-led Globe Telecom losing 0.5% and hitting P2,000 apiece. Before the close, it sunk to a new 30-day low of P1,942 apiece. 

Manny Pangilinan’s PLDT managed to gain 0.53% and ended the day with a trade price of P1,327. Intraday, it went as low as P1,272.

Dennis Uy’s Dito CME Holdings, which was not subjected to Duterte’s tirades, went up by 3.4% to P2.75 apiece. Uy donated to Duterte’s presidential campaign back in 2016.

Shares of Manila Water fell 3.5% after Duterte mentioned the water crisis again in his speech.

Maynilad Water Services parent Metro Pacific Investments Corporation saw its shares rise by 1.3% at the last minute, but not before hitting a new 30-day low of P2.91.

Meanwhile, embattled media giant ABS-CBN ended the trading day flat after days of crashing, with its market capitalization hitting just over P6.6 billion.

Overall, all subindices ended in the green, with mining, property, and holding firms gaining over 1%.

Tantiangco, however, noted that trading remained tepid, with net value turnover posting just P4.2 billion, below the year-to-date average of P5.8 billion. 

“This shows that many investors are still staying on the sidelines, waiting for further clues particularly on how the quarantine measures will be after July 31,” he said. – Rappler.com

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Ralf Rivas

A sociologist by heart, a journalist by profession. Ralf is Rappler's business reporter, covering macroeconomy, government finance, companies, and agriculture.