Stock market defies global trend

“The sharp falls reverberated in the Asian markets after Twitter’s shares plummeted 20.5 percent.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) closed stronger on Monday, averting an early slide, unlike its foreign counterparts, which fell on US market concerns.

The local bourse ended the trading day at 7,773.32 points, up by 0.93 percent or 71.94 points. The broader All Shares index rose 0.64 percent to close at 4,645.28.

The stronger finish of the PSEi did not reflect the Asian markets, which all fell after a steep decline in the US markets, particularly in the technology sector.

Tokyo shares dropped by 0.74 percent, Shanghai ended 0.16 percent lower and Korean stocks slipped 0.06 percent. Markets in Jakarta and Bangkok, however, were up by a fraction of a percent.

The sharp falls reverberated in the Asian markets after Twitter’s shares plummeted 20.5 percent, its second-biggest loss since they listed in 2013. Facebook gave up 0.78 percent, a day after the social media giant led a slide in technology shares.

“Asian equity markets as it is have seen a soft start this morning, taking after last Friday’s US markets’ tone. In addition, risk aversion is likely to have set in for markets at the fore of a string of event risks this week that would keep investors occupied, such as eurozone and US economic indicators,” Jingyi Pan of IG Group said in a commentary.

Back in the Philippines, financial firms were the only sector in the red yesterday, shedding 1.07 percent. Holding firms gained the most, up by 1.70 percent to 7,680.62, while services were up by 1.16 percent at 1,501.37.

“A” shares of ATN Holdings led all 98 gainers, which saw a 9.30 percent increase to P0.94 per share. Paxys, Inc. followed suit by a 9.21 percent increase to P3.44 per stock. House of Investments, Inc., meanwhile led all 91 losers, dropping 10.1 percent to end at P6.05 per share. 57 issues remained unchanged during the market trade.

The market saw 76,681 trades amounting to P5.607 billion in value. BDO Unibank’s shares were the most actively traded at P466 million while falling by 2.19 percent. Ayala Corporation and Ayala Land were second and third, each with over P400 million in daily trade volume. With AP