Overseas news
The Nasdaq dropped to its biggest 1-day decline since December 2022. This happened as a low-cost Chinese AI model led to a selloff in US chipmakers, causing Nvidia’s stock to drop by 17%, and wiping out a record $593 billion in market value.
In recent years, shares of the large tech companies have been a source of huge growth for the US stock market, boosted by interest in AI computing.
Nvidia previously attracted much of the interest in AI-related tech stocks as a leading supplier of chips used in AI technologies. This made the company particularly influential in that sector.
Interest in the Chinese AI startup DeepSeek also led to a 2% drop in oil prices due to concerns over energy demand. Weak economic data from China and potential US tariffs also contributed to lower prices.
China is the world's largest oil importer and so its economic condition can significantly impact the demand for oil and in turn, affect its price.
Local developments
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) dropped to a 7-month low of 6,196.88 on Monday. This reflects investor caution as many await local gross domestic product (GDP) data and announcements from the US Federal Reserve’s (the Fed) policy meeting.
The Fed’s monetary policy decisions are widely watched and anticipated due to the impact they can have on global markets.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) reported it secured P30.2 billion worth of investment pledges in January, marking a 1,263% rise from the same month last year.
The 12 PEZA-approved projects are expected to create 3,270 jobs and generate $32.177 million in exports.
Additionally, the Senate approved the Capital Markets Efficiency Promotion Act which aims to reduce the stock transaction tax from 0.6% to 0.1%.
If implemented, this measure would lower the costs of stock trading and may encourage Filipinos to invest in the stock market.
Today’s news is mixed, and so you may want to remain cautious and adopt a wait-and-see approach. Remember to stay updated so you can make decisions accordingly.
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