By James A. Loyola
The Philippine Stock Exchange will resume trading today after securing an exemption from the government’s business closure order during the enhanced community quarantine for Luzon.
The PSE said clearing and settlement at the Securities Clearing Corporation of the Philippines will resume.
However, the PSE will continue to observe shorter trading hours in light of the challenges posed by ongoing efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19.
Starting today, the bourse will pre-open at 9:00 a.*m. and start trading at 9:30 a.m. Pre-close will be at 12:45 p.m. while the runp-off period will start at 12:50 p.m. and end with the market’s close at 1:00 p.m.
“Further, as prescribed by the national government’s Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases, the PSE trading floor will be closed and will not be accessible by the trading participants,” the PSE said.
It explained that, “Trading activities by all trading participants will have to be conducted remotely through offsite locations.”
The PSE announced late Monday night that it was suspending trading operations indefinitely starting yesterday following the announcement by the President of the enhanced community quarantine where most businesses were ordered closed and for people to stay home.
Monzon noted that the guidelines issued by the IATF included essential businesses that are exempted from the business closure order during the quarantine period but the capital markets were not among those listed.