PHL shares sink as Trump poised to win election

PHILIPPINE SHARES sank on Wednesday as Republican Donald J. Trump looked poised to win the US presidential election.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) dropped by 1.27% or 92.52 points to close at 7,165.42 on Wednesday, while the broader all shares index fell by 0.58% or 23.54 points to end at 3,969.97.

“The local market dropped this Wednesday… as investors traded cautiously while monitoring the US’ presidential elections,” Japhet Louis O. Tantiangco, senior research analyst at Philstocks Financial, Inc., said in a Viber message.

“Investors are pricing in the possibility of a Trump presidency, which is known to be heavily leaning towards protectionist policies that may have negative implications on the global economy,” he added.

Juan Paolo E. Colet, managing director at Chinabank Capital Corp., likewise said via Viber that the PSEi fell “as investors reacted to US election results pointing to a significant victory for Trump and the Republican Party.”

“Foreign investors turned net sellers by more than P1 billion and many market participants turned cautious in the face of speculation on the economic policy impact of a second Trump administration on emerging markets like the Philippines,” Mr. Colet said.

Net foreign selling increased to P1.12 billion on Wednesday from P58.2 million on Tuesday.

Fox News projected that Mr. Trump has won the US presidency, defeating Democrat Kamala Harris and capping a stunning political comeback four years after he left the White House, Reuters reported. Other media outlets have yet to call the race.

The results so far underscore how one of the most unusual presidential elections in modern US history could have far-reaching implications for tax and trade policy as well as US institutions.

The results affect assets globally and will determine the outlook for US debt, the strength of the dollar, and a host of industries that make up the backbone of corporate America.

Mr. Tantiangco said the peso’s decline also weighed on the stock market. The local unit weakened by 34.6 centavos to close at P58.661 per dollar on Wednesday from P58.315 on Tuesday, data from the Bankers Association of the Philippines showed.

Luis A. Limlingan, head of sales at Regina Capital Development Corp., said the market was also awaiting the US Federal Reserve’s policy decision overnight.

All sectoral indices closed lower on Wednesday. Property dropped by 2.93% or 83.67 points to 2,765.33; services lost 1.93% or 42.62 points to end at 2,162.36; financials went down by 0.83% or 19.56 points 2,331.57; industrials sank by 0.33% or 33.69 points to 9,936.32; mining and oil declined by 0.07% or 6.12 points to 8,482.64; and holding firms inched down by 0.05% or 3.24 points to 6,132.24.

Value turnover increased to P4.66 billion on Wednesday with 1.34 billion shares changing hands from the P4.97 billion with 1.03 billion issues traded on Tuesday.

Decliners outnumbered advancers, 113 versus 86, while 55 names were unchanged. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera