MANILA — The local stock market mirrored the downward trend observed in most Asian indices at the close of this week’s trading session. Despite the red territory in Asian markets, the Philippine peso maintained a sideways movement, hovering around the 55 level.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) experienced a decline of 26.33 points, settling at 6,161.89, while the All Shares index also saw a decrease of 12.52 points, closing at 3,316.86.

Regina Capital Development Corp.’s Head of Sales, Luis Limlingan, noted that Philippine shares succumbed to profit-taking following Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s statement expressing the central bank’s lack of confidence in its efforts to combat inflation. Limlingan further mentioned that bond yields rose as stocks fell in response to Powell’s remarks.

Most sectoral indices witnessed declines, except for the Services sector, which saw a slight increase of 6.45 points, reaching 1,496.

The largest declines were recorded in the Mining and Oil sector, down by 52.93 points to 9,693.13, followed by the Industrial sector, down by 36.97 points to 8,642.72. The Property sector decreased by 34.97 points to 2,628.11, Holding Firms dropped by 15.73 points to 5,878, and Financials were down by 8.86 points to 1,764.39.

Meanwhile, the Philippine peso concluded the week with a stable performance, closing at 55.96 against the US dollar, a marginal decrease of 0.07 from the previous day’s closing rate of 55.89. The day started with an opening rate of 56.03, compared to Thursday’s kickoff at 55.92.

The currency pair fluctuated between a low of 55.92 and a high of 56.03, resulting in an average exchange rate of 55.96 for the day. Trade volume decreased to USD 951.7 million from USD 1.33 billion on Thursday.

(ai/mnm)

The Philippine peso weakened, and the PSEi (Philippine Stock Exchange Index) experienced a decline on Thursday, influenced by factors such as Wall Street’s drop and rising tension in the Middle East.

On this particular Thursday, the local stock market recorded a decrease of 49.11 points (0.78 percent), closing at 6,219.16. Investors were primarily reacting to negative signals from Wall Street, driven by the continuous increase in long-term US treasury yields, as explained by Mikhail Plopenio, research and engagement officer at Philstocks Financial, Inc.

Adding to the concerns was the International Monetary Fund’s projection that inflation would not fall within the government’s target range of 2 to 4 percent by the end of the year, according to Plopenio. The All Shares index also fell by 19.61 points, closing at 3,365.79.

With the exception of the Property sector, which gained 3.81 points, nearly all sectors in the index saw declines. Decliners outnumbered advancers at 117 to 50, while 53 shares remained unchanged. Plopenio also noted that the ongoing Middle East tensions had a dampening effect on market sentiment.

In the currency market, the Philippine peso closed at 56.87 against the US dollar on Thursday, a drop from the previous day’s closing rate of 56.7. The peso began the day at 56.87, trading within the range of 56.83 to 56.9 against the greenback. The trading volume increased to USD 990.3 million, up from the previous day’s USD 877.55 million. (ai/mnm)

Infographic courtesy of PNA