MANILA – All counters in the local stock market closed in the negative territory ahead of the US Federal Reserve System chair Jerome Powell’s speech, while the peso finished strong on Friday.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) declined 65.17 points to 6,160.61, with all shares also down by 25.17 points to 3,332.40.
“Philippine stocks fell below 6,200 as investors stayed cautious ahead of Powell’s Jackson Hole speech,” Regina Capital Development Corp. head of sales Luis Limlingan said.
“On the data front, traders will be eyeing consumer sentiment data for August,” he added.
Biggest losers for the day were Holding Firms, down by 42.75 points; followed by Property, 38.67 points; Financials, 28.99 points; Industrial, 23.52 points; Services, 12.56 points; and Mining and Oil, 3.05 points.
Decliners outpaced advancers at 101 to 66, with 43 counters left unchanged.
Meanwhile, peso appreciated closing at 56.57 to a US dollar from Thursday’s finish of 56.76.
This is despite peso kicking off the day weak at 56.80 from previous day’s start of 56.58 to the greenback.
The currency pair traded between 56.48 and 56.84, bringing the average level for the day at 56.66 to a dollar.
Volume of trade increased to USD1.32 billion from Thursday’s volume of USD1.13 billion. (PNA)
