The main index barely stayed in the 7,200 territory on Tuesday as worries rose over the new strain of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), which launched lockdowns anew abroad.
The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) lost 0.31 percent or 22.50 points to 7,202.39, while the wider All Shares declined by 0.84 percent or 36.20 points to close at 4,290.14.
AAA Equities head of research Christopher Mangun said the market saw a massive selling in the first few hours of trading, which was possibly caused by the fresh round of lockdowns in Europe caused by the new Covid-19 strain.
The market fell way below the 7,200 level in the middle of the day to record its intraday low of 7,081.14.
Despite ending in the red, the local bourse recovered from the sell off and managed to trim off its losses at close.
“Buyers were quick to pick up shares of blue chips that were sold down. Second liners and speculative issues also took a beating after the substantial rally that it has seen in the prior trading days,” Mangun added.
Mangun added that the market maintained its 7,200 support, but is getting more fragile by the day and could still move lower before recovering.
Regina Capital Development Corp. Managing Director Luis Limlingan likewise said local shares slipped as the United Kingdom reimposed lockdowns over the discovery of the mutated Covid-19 strain.
Limlingan noted that it overshadowed the deal reached for new fiscal aid in the United States.
“Congress looks likely to pass a substantial Covid-relief package. Congressional leaders have described the package as costing $900 billion,” he said.
The property sector was the only survivor at 0.62 percent, while mining and oil led the losers at 2.44 percent.
Total volume turnover was at 22.72 billion shares valued at P10.09 billion.
Decliners were ahead of advancers, 203 to 39, while 33 securities were unchanged.