Stocks plummet in biggest one-day drop in 3 weeks

Manila, Philippines – The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) plummeted by 1.89% in midweek trade, its sharpest one-day drop in three weeks after gaming, property and banking stocks tanked.

The PSEi settled at 6,337.48, losing 121.99 points from Tuesday’s close.

All sectors bled, with two shares losing for every stock that gained.

Online gaming company DigiPlus Interactive Corp. led the losses with a 20.40% decline to a near seven-month low of P27.90 per share, as lawmakers and banking regulators double down on restrictions against the gambling industry as investigators find more leads into the case of missing “sabungeros” or cockfight enthusiasts.

Another gaming share, Bloomberry Resorts Corp., lost 5.11% to last trade at P4.27 apiece to become a sector laggard.

“The gaming stocks - particularly those that have exposure to online segment- they’re not really doing well right now,” Philstocks financial research manager Japhet Tantiangco said in an interview.

“They’re really taking a hit mainly because of the policy narratives against the online gaming sector,” he added.

Property shares SM Prime Holdings, Inc., Ayala Land, Inc. as well as financial stocks BDO Unibank, Inc., BPI and Metrobank, were all in the red, hurt by bets over the direction of interest rates after June inflation data suggested that the US Federal Reserve may remain reluctant to deliver a rate cut.

“Philippine shares succumbed to profit-taking as investors digested hotter-than-expected June inflation data,” said Luis Limlingan, managing director of brokerage firm Regina Capital.

“Many remained on the sidelines amidst anxiety stemming from the latest developments regarding US tariffs,” he added.

Wednesday’s PSEi performance mirrored Wall Street’s overnight losses.