RP shares fall to lowest in more than 4 years

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine share prices took a heavy beating on Monday, with the main index plunging to its lowest in more than four years as investors fled emerging markets on global recession fears, analysts said.

The 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) index declined 239.66 points or 12.27 percent to 1,713.83 while the all-share index dropped 122.79 points to 1,138.07.

Data from the PSE showed that Monday’s close was the lowest since September 20, 2004 as the 12.2683-percent decline was the biggest one day percentage drop and also the biggest one-day point drop after February 28, 2007 when the local bourse lost 263.84 points.

All the stock market’s sub-indices lost at least 8 percent each, led by the services sector which shed 13.246 percent, followed by the holding firms, 10.6896 percent; and financials, 10.5206 percent.

Of the 141 traded issues for the day, 123 declined, while five advanced and 13 stocks were unchanged.

Volume traded reached P1.102 billion valued at about P1.6 billion.

Monday’s sharp decline forced the PSE to impose a 15-minute trading suspension between 11:23 a.m. and 11:38 a.m. as the market saw shares falling by more than 10 percent.

For the first time in its 81-year existence, the stock exchange regulator was prompted to halt trading and impose the “circuit breaker" rule in a bid to calm the frantic sell-off in the bourse, Francis Ed. Lim, PSE president and chief executive officer, said.

Peter Raymond Lee, IGC analyst, said investors were dumping emerging markets in favor of “raising cash."

"Asian markets led the decline today mostly on fears that the recession is spreading on emerging markets. We may be one of the smallest markets, but we are still vulnerable," he said.

source