FINANCIAL stocks were the biggest losers during the bloodbath on Monday as the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) continues to dampen market sentiment.
The financial sector ended in the red territory on Monday, shedding 3.35 percent or 40.83 points to close at 1,176.45.
Following this was holding firms which dropped by 3.07 percent. Property and industrial stocks both plunged 2.14 percent, while mining and oil slid 1.34 percent. Services, meanwhile, declined by 0.65 percent.
Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis Limlingan said the financial sector was in line with the drop for the main index as investors remained on the sidelines amid the pandemic.
The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index fell 2.57 percent or 135.46 points to finish at 5,131.16 while the wider All Shares dipped 2.34 percent or 75.19 points to end at 3,144.31.
“Local stocks fell sharply, giving back some of the strong gains experienced in the previous days to kick start what seems to be another volatile week,” Limlingan said.
In terms of percentage, East West Banking Corp. booked the steepest decline among the financial stocks at 6.13 percent. Its shares fell 49 centavos to P7.51 each.
This was followed by Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), which plunged 6.02 percent or P3.85 to finish at P60.10 apiece.
The shares of BDO Unibank Inc.
decreased by 2.84 percent; China Banking Corp., 1.49 percent; Metropolitan Bank
& Trust Co., 0.79 percent; Philippine National Bank, 1.90 percent; Rizal
Commercial Banking Corp., 2.86 percent;
Security Bank Corp., 4.96 percent; Union Bank of the Philippines Inc., 3.56
percent.
Philstocks Financial Inc. analyst Piper Chaucer Tan, meanwhile, said that heavy local and foreign sell-off of financial stocks dragged the sector, which was expected after booking 8.31-percent uptick on March 26.
“I think it’s more on profit-taking…for this trading session, particularly in the financials sector,” Tan said. “But I think that once this normalized, banks can be a great bet given their valuations.”
Foreign selling was at P887.40 million on Monday.
BDO was the most actively traded among financials stocks with value turnover of P256.17 million, followed by BPI at P214.14 million.
Overall, Ayala Land Inc. was the top active stock, booking turnover value of P414.26 million. Its shares ended flat at P31 apiece.
Image credits: Nonie Reyes
