Investors in the Philippines became poorer by Php1.16 trillion as the Philippine’s bourse suffered its worst bloodbath in history.
“Whether you are a taipan, a wealthy tycoon, or a lowly employee who is a member of the SSS or GSIS, or a holder of an insurance policy issued in the country — chances are, you are now worth 13 per cent less,” a Biz Buzz column of The Philippine Daily Inquirer reads.
The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) resumed trading yesterday after two days of suspension following the order of President Duterte for a Luzon-wide quarantine to contain the coronavirus disease. The Philippines is the only country that has suspended the stock market, currency and bond trading due to the coronavirus outbreak. France, Italy and Belgium went to the extent of banning short selling in some stocks to curtail the plunge in equity markets.
RELATED STORY: PH stocks reports ‘biggest intraday loss’; slumps 24% as trading resumes after two-day closing
“Biz Buzz learned that leaders of the stock market lobbied heavily with authorities — specifically the interagency task force in charge of enforcing the Luzon-wide lockdown — to allow the financial markets to reopen,” the column said.
“The financial market players argued before key decision makers of the Duterte administration that all of the major stock markets around the world remained open throughout all this, even in countries worse hit by the virus,” it added.
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno said the IATF decided to lift the trading suspension after the BSP, Department of Finance and the Securities and Exchange Commission met with the market platforms.
“The IATF granted the trading platforms exemption from the enhanced quarantine measures after they assured the authorities that necessary safeguards to ensure the safety of their employees and the community they interact with, are in place,” Diokno said in his tweet.
READ ON: COVID-19 cases breach 200,00 mark, cases double in two weeks
But PSE President and Chief Executive Officer Ramon S. Monzon thinks there was “an oversight” on the part of the IATF to exclude capital markets from the quarantine.
Stock market veterans are still very sanguine about the prospect of normalization soon. “It’s hard to say whether we have hit a bottom for there are still many headwinds ahead. While the inflow from the government’s financial institutions will provide some support, what is certain is we are in a bear territory that could last until the virus is contained,” Jun Calaycay, a strategist at PhilStocks Financia told Bloomberg.
