STOCKS declined on Friday following the release of data showing the National Capital Region’s (NCR) output contracted by double digits in 2020, which weighed on the Philippine economy.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index shed 116.64 points or 1.79% to close at 6,370.87 on Friday, while the all shares index dropped by 44.93 points or 1.13% to 3,923.03.
“The market slid especially during the last minute of trading as investor sentiment was affected by the PSA’s (Philippine Statistics Authority) report that the NCR shrunk 10.1% in the year 2020,” Darren Blaine T. Pangan, trader at Timson Securities, Inc., said via Viber message.
“More corporate earnings reports are also being assessed by market participants, to get a feel of how the sectors have performed during the last few months,” Mr. Pangan added.
AB Capital Securities, Inc. Junior Equity Analyst Lance U. Soledad said stocks closed the week lower due to “slower recovery expectations” after the government continues to impose lockdown measures due to the number of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infections.
“For this week, Fitch [Ratings] and ADB (Asian Development Bank) downgraded their 2021 GDP (gross domestic product) growth forecasts for the Philippines,” Mr. Soledad said in a separate Viber message.
NCR’s economy, alongside those of Calabarzon and Central Luzon, suffered double-digit contraction that weighed heavily on the country’s output last year, the PSA reported on Thursday.
posted declines, reflecting the Philippine economy’s downward revised record 9.6% drop last year amid strict lockdowns put in place to contain the spread of COVID-19.
Preliminary results from the PSA 2020 Regional Accounts showed NCR shrank by 10.1% last year from the 7% growth recorded in 2019.
Metro Manila remained the largest contributor to the country’s economic output at 31.9%, albeit lower from 32.1% share in 2019.
Meanwhile, Fitch Ratings lowered its Philippine GDP growth forecast to 6.3% from the 6.9% it gave in January due to the surge of COVID-19 cases in the country. The ADB also cut its outlook to 4.5% from 6.5% previously.
Both are lower than the government’s 6.5% to 7.5% target.
All sectoral indices closed the week in the red on Friday except for mining and oil, which gained 196.77 points or 2.08% to finish at 9,644.29.
Meanwhile, property lost 88.99 points or 2.81% to 3,077.94; holding firms declined by 117.12 points or 1.78% to 6,441.31; financials went down by 16.05 points or 1.13% to 1,394.23; services shaved off 12.41 points or 0.85% to end at 1,443.11 points; and industrials decreased by 30.3 points or 0.34% to 8,679.35.
Value turnover jumped to P8.62 billion on Friday with 6.77 billion shares switching hands, from the P4.73 billion seen the previous day with 4.23 billion shares traded.
Decliners outnumbered advancers, 110 versus 91, while 47 names closed unchanged.
Net foreign selling went down to P307.2 million on Friday from the P394.39 million seen on Thursday. — K.C.G. Valmonte