Philippine stocks tumbled more than 100 points Thursday as the US equities declined on uncertainty ahead of the Nov. 5 US presidential elections.
GT Capital Holdings Inc. was among the top index gainers, increasing by 2.71 percent to P720, while International Container Terminal Services Inc. was at the bottom, declining by 4.58 percent to P396. Tokyo fell by half a percent, weighed down by a stronger yen and a drop in stocks linked to the semiconductor industry, which also dipped on Wall Street.
Businesses and economists worry that Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba will offer tax cuts and higher spending, and go slow on reforms needed to improve Japan’s competitiveness as he courts support from other parties. Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management attributed Asian markets’ wobble to pre-vote “jitters”, saying traders were “wary of taking on new risk as the US election countdown begins”.
The country is battling sluggish domestic consumption, a persistent crisis in the property sector and soaring government debt — all of which threaten Beijing’s official growth target of five percent for this year.