MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) fell to the 5,900-level on Thursday, March 12, following the rise in the number of novel coronavirus cases in the country.

Before the market went on recess at noon, the PSEi was trading at 5,957.35, down by 395.9 points or 6.2%.

It even went down to 5,906.91, plummeting by 7%, which is worse than the 6.8% drop to 6,312.61 last Monday, March 9, when the index fell to its steepest one-day percentage drop since the 2008 global financial crisis.

It was trading above 7,700 back in January.

The broader all shares fell to 3,607.3, down by 5.3% amid the pandemic.

All other subindices were also in the red, led by mining and oil, dropping by over 9%.

The health crisis has led the government’s economic officials to self-quarantine, after being exposed to a patient with COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

It also led to lockdowns of some government offices for disinfection.

As of Wednesday, March 11, the Department of Health said there are 49 cases in the country, two of whom have died. – Rappler.com