Market suffers another bloodbath

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) suffered another bloodbath yesterday, plunging 3.02 percent or 178.93 points to close at 5,738.06.

“It’s still a continuation of the local market’s catch-up process in the decline of regional markets,” Jose Mari B. Lacson, head of research at stock brokerage Campos, Lanuza & Co., said in a phone interview.

Net foreign selling hit P5.73 billion yesterday.

Justino Calaycay Jr., an analyst at Accord Capital Equities Corp. said, “the floodgates of pessimism opened wide after the PSEi breezed past the 5,900 mark.”

Asian markets were weighed down by fears that a potential US military strike in Syria might spread throughout the oil producing Middle East. Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 1.51 percent while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index declined 1.56 percent.

Wall Street also posted its worst performance since June, with the Dow Jones industrial average falling 1.14 percent while the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index retreated 1.59 percent.

“Even as attention finally shifted away from the US Federal Reserve, it nevertheless found another scapegoat to justify fears: a possible escalation of the tensions in Syria,” Calaycay said.

Lacson said the market suffered from an over reaction, which was followed by a recovery late in the trading day after the main index hit an intraday low of 5,562.13.

Locally, all counters were in the red, paced by property firms that shed 4.39 percent or 98.88 points to 2,156.02.