Stocks suffer as Omicron worries unnerve investors

MANILA, Philippines — Local stocks fell yesterday along with other Asian bourses as investors offloaded riskier assets on concerns over surging global Omicron cases.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) slumped to 7,237.61, down 60.05 points or 0.82 percent, while the broader All Shares index tumbled 23.21 points or 0.60 percent to 3,828.38.

Total value turnover reached P6.7 billion. Market breadth was negative, 112 to 57, while 51 issues were unchanged.

“The Philippine market dropped anew as fears over the rapid spread of the Omicron variant weighed on global indexes,” AB Capital Securities said in a commentary.

The Department of Health reported one additional case of Omicron, a returning OFW from Egypt, to bring the total confirmed cases to three.

“Omicron threatens to be the Grinch to rob Christmas,” Mizuho Bank’s Vishnu Varathan said in a report. The market “prefers safety to nasty surprises.”

Regional equities declined as rising cases of the new Omicron variant in Europe and the US clouded the global economic recovery, with thin year-end liquidity also leading to choppy trading.

The spread of the Omicron variant also fueled fears that renewed curbs on business and travel might worsen supply chain disruptions and boost inflation.

Luis Limlingan of Regina Capital said also investors continued to digest the US Fed’s recent announcement to taper aggressively going into 2022 and monitor the spread of the Omicron variant globally.

Also, he said the market would be keeping a close watch on the full impact of Typhoon Odette, which ravaged parts of the Visayas and Mindanao and would cause a dent in the country’s fourth quarter economic performance.