SHARE prices ended lower Monday on negative news.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) was down 14.53 points or by 0.27 percent to 5,450.45 while the broader all shares index was down 8.01 points or by 0.24 percent to 3,342.72.
Losers edged gainers 112 to 88 with 32 stocks unchanged. Trading turnover reached P4.07 billion.
The peso closed at 50.695 to the dollar, up from 50.84 on Friday.
The currency opened at 50.75, hitt a high of 50.695 and a low of 50.77. Trading turnover reached $213.82 million.
“Local shares logged in another loss as investors digested economic data, mixed corporate results, and the extension of the ECQ (enhanced community quarantine) past April 30,” said Luis Limlingan, managing director at Regina Capital Development Corp.
“Regional, investors are also assessing the latest economic aid package from Congress to combat the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic. The Office of the President has given out recommendations of modified community quarantine post April 30. Some recommend modified community quarantine based on acceleration of cases and decided industries,” Limlingan added.
Nicholas Mapa, senior economist at ING Bank, said that with the extension of the quarantine to May 15, it “all but knocks out chances for growth” in the second quarter of the year.
“We have likened COVID-19 to kryptonite to the once robust economy and we now expect a deep drop in performance as the virus knocks out the Philippines’ greatest strengths. The Philippines will be missing the support from remittance flows which will take the wind out of consumption momentum and capital formation with up to 90,000 migrant Filipinos losing their jobs,” Mapa said.
“Onshore, the services-oriented economy is not likely to jump out of the gates after the lockdown as social distancing curtails businesses where human interaction is unavoidable,” he added.
Mapa noted that with the to date the fiscal response to the pandemic “has remained modest” at 1.2 percent of GDP, the lockdown extended a full month, ING Bank now expects GDP to contract by 2.2 percent in 2020 with negative growth in both the second and third quarter of the year.
“The sharp drop in GDP can be mitigated should the lockdown ease and business sentiment returns quickly and government spending offsets foregone income but until we see evidence of this happening, we will need to brace for the first full year contraction in growth since the Asian financial crisis,” he said.
Most actively traded SM Prime Holdings Inc. was up P0.15 to P28.80. BDO Unibank Inc. was down P3 to P97. Pure Gold Price Club Inc. was up P0.60 to P47. SM Investments Corp. was down P34 to P780. Jollibee Foods Corp. was up P0.20 to P234.50. Bank of the Philippine Islands was down P0.55 to P58.95. PLDT Inc. was up P12 to P1,239. Ayala Land Inc. was up P0.30 to P29.20. Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. was down P1.50 to P37.50. Globe Telecom Inc. was up P2 to P2,210.
