Philippine stocks plunge 24% as trading resumes

Members of a quarantine team set up a checkpoint area in Cainta City, Manila City, the Philippines, on Saturday, March 14, 2020. - Bloomberg

MANILA: Philippine stocks resumed trading from a controversial two-day shutdown with the index posting its biggest intraday-loss in 33 years.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index opened with a 24% drop in Manila, bringing this month’s loss to about 40%, the worst performer in Asia. As trading resumes, the lowest valuation in 11 years, prospects for a 50 basis point rate cut and a 27 billion peso ($528 million) fiscal stimulus collided with fears of the coronavirus spreading.