The PSEI opened 0.8 percent lower at 6,698.25 as shares resumed trading after the storm shuttered the stock market for a day. The decline had deepened to about 1.5 percent after the open.
Disrupted operations
“Index losers at the open are led by companies that had their operations disrupted yesterday,” said Alfred Benjamin R. Garcia, head of research at AP Securities Inc.
He said these included San Miguel Corp., BDO Unibank, Bank of the Philippine Islands, Nickel Asia Corp., International Container Terminal Services Inc., and Bloomberry Resorts Corp.
“Gainers, on the other hand, are led by consumer staples (Century Pacific Food, Monde Nissin, Puregold), which typically get a boost in sales following widespread calamities,” he added.
Wall Street tumbles
Adding to the pressure was the significant market pullback overseas, led by major indices on Wall Street.
“US markets just suffered their worst tumble since 2022, and Asia-Pacific markets are tracking that decline,” Garcia said.
“Our drop might be worse than our neighbors since we have to play catch up with the rest of the region following yesterday’s unscheduled trading holiday,” he added.
Miguel R. Camus has been a reporter covering various domestic business topics since 2009.
