PSEi retreats as COVID-19 fears linger

Share prices on the Philippine Stock Exchange plunged more than 1% on Friday as lingering fears over the impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak continued to drag investor sentiment.

The benchmark PSEi shed 114.39 points or 1.66% to 6,770.38 at the closing bell. The broader All Shares lost 55.32 points or 1.35% to 4,039.55.

“Shares in the local equities market closed sharply lower as anxieties about the worldwide spread of COVID-19 lingered and concerns about the ability of governments to control the impact of the disease on their economies sent the benchmark U.S. Treasury note yield to a fresh all-time low,” Regina Capital head of sales Luis Limlngan said.

On Wall Street, US stocks tumbled on Thursday with shares of banks and travel companies taking a beating, as a new wave of fear about the spread of the coronavirus and its economic impact gripped investors just one day after election results powered a rally.

“Overnight markets were also back into selloffs over virus outbreak concerns again,” Limlingan said.

Foreign funds bought P3.330 billion shares and sold P3.601 billion for a net selling position of P271.031 million.

More than 632.645 million shares valued at P5.884 billion, changed hands. Decliners led advancers, 138 to 45, and 38 issues were unchanged. —LDF, GMA News