Philippine bourse resumes trading after two-hour halt

THE Philippine Stock Exchange resumed trading after a two-hour halt on Wednesday (Jan 3) that frustrated investors during the first week of the year.

Trading resumed at 11.56 am, the bourse said in an advisory to traders that did not provide a reason for the stoppage. The main stock index was down 0.4 per cent shortly after the resumption.

Officials of the exchange have not responded to requests for comment on the reason for the halt which happened minutes after trading opened.

“There’s a lot of frustration from traders and investors” after the key stock index breached the psychologically important 6,500 mark on Tuesday, said Jonathan Ravelas, managing director at eManagement for Business and Marketing Services.

“People want continuity, there should be a backup system in place for such situations. But I’m not too worried as it seems to be a technical glitch. There was no unusual activity in the market. In the past, trading has resumed within a couple of hours typically,” Ravelas said.

Two years ago, the Philippine bourse cancelled trading following a system glitch. The bourse had to suspend trading after 43 brokers were unable to connect to its system.

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In January 2023, the market opening was delayed by about half an hour in what the exchange described then as a “minor technical” problem. The bourse also halted afternoon trading, citing technical reasons, in December 2021.

With a capitalisation of US$229.7 billion, the Philippine stock market is smaller compared to neighbours Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia, according to Bloomberg-compiled data. BLOOMBERG