“Investors are essentially liquidating their holdings” as the renewed spike in Covid cases and renewed mobility restrictions could derail economic recovery prospects, said Lex Azurin, an analyst at AB Capital Securities.
The Philippine Stock Exchange Index lost as much as 3.6% before paring its drop to close 2.6% lower at 6,552.46, the lowest level since Nov 4. All but three of 30 index components declined, with Alliance Global Group Inc, Ayala Corp and Megaworld Corp each sinking more than 5%. The surge in Covid-19 cases in the Philippines, with the second-highest infection count in South-East Asia, comes after the nation was one of the region’s last to begin inoculations. In contrast, the recent outbreak that’s led to hundreds being quarantined in Hong Kong – where a vaccination program is well underway – hasn’t triggered a similar selloff. — Bloomberg