MANILA, Philippines – The local bourse saw one of its most volatile trading days on Friday, March 13, as the novel coronavirus continued to send jitters over the trading floor. 

The Philippine Stock Exchange index gained 1% and closed at 5,793. Climbing back to the green zone, however, was quite a roller coaster ride.

The PSEi slid over 10% during the morning session, declining to a new low of 5,097 and triggered another circuit breaker or a 15-minute trading halt.

“Panic sellers turned into bargain hunters after triggering circuit breakers early in the session that temporarily halted trading for the second time in this week,” said Luis Limlingan of Regina Capital.

Traders also attributed the recovery to the order of Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, instructing the Government Service Insurance System and Social Security System to buy stocks and support the market. 

The broader all shares, financials, holding firms, and services were in the green, while mining and oil, property, and industrials stayed in the red.

Decliners still trumped advancers, 139 to 87.

President Rodrigo Duterte will be placing Metro Manila, a region of over 12 million people, on lockdown for at least 30 days to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus in the Philippines. – Rappler.com