SINGAPORE: The Philippines halted stock, bond and currency trading until further notice, becoming the first country to shut financial markets in response to the widening coronavirus pandemic.
The closures take effect on Tuesday , according to statements from the Philippine Stock Exchange and the Bankers Association of the Philippines. The moves follow President Rodrigo Duterte’s decision on Monday to widen a month-long lockdown of the capital region to cover the country’s main Luzon island, home to at least 57 million people. The virus has infected at least 140 people in the Philippines and killed a dozen.
Global markets are in meltdown as the pandemic spreads, with roughly US$14 trillion (S$19.9 trillion) in shareholder value erased and even safe assets such as gold have been sold to cover losses. The Philippines benchmark index fell 8 per cent on Monday and is down 20 per cent for March so far, already its worst since October 2008.
