PHL shares slip on White House shake-up

Share prices on the Philippine Stock Exchange extended a losing streak on Wednesday, dragging the main index back to the 8,300-level, after US President Donald Trump fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson which sent jitters across regional markets.

The bellwether PSEi lost 70.83 points or 0.84 percent to close at 8,348.74. The broader All Shares declined by 31.31 points or 0.61 percent to 5,035.85.

“Concerns outside continue to hound the local market, particularly the sacking of Tillerson. This is a knee-jerk reaction of regional markets, including the country as this fueled concerns about US tariffs and protectionism,” Astro del Castillo, president and managing director at First Grade Finance Inc., told GMA News Online.

Asian shares eased on Wednesday amid fears of rising US protectionism as Trump fired Tillerson, regarded as a moderate in his administration, and eyes hefty tariffs on Chinese imports, according to a report by Reuters.

Critics said the move would sow more instability in the volatile Trump administration and marks the departure of another moderate who sought to emphasize the United States’ strong ties to its allies.

“We also tracked the decline on Wall Street,” Del Castillo said.

Wall Street’s major indexes fell on Tuesday as the dismissal of Tillerson and the possibility of additional US import tariffs against China dragged down stocks across sectors, Reuters noted in a separate report.

On the Philippine Stock Exchange, foreign funds bought P2.390 billion of shares and sold P3.818 billion for a net selling position of P1.427 billion.

More than 6.590 billion shares valued at P7.479 billion, changed hands. Decliners led advancers, 122 to 99, and 40 issues were unchanged. —VDS, GMA News