Manila: A wait-and-see stance following the rebalancing of the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) resulted in selling pressure and the negative close of the main index on Monday, but the peso ended sideways against the US dollar. The main equities index shed 1.34 percent to 6,254.36 points, and the broader All Shares by 0.85 percent to 3,735.25 points.
According to Philippines News Agency, most of the sectoral counters also finished in negative territory, with the highest decline registered by Financials at 2.31 percent. It was followed by Property, 1.97 percent; Industrial, 0.92 percent; Holding Firms, 0.85 percent; and Mining and Oil, 0.20 percent. Only the Services index gained after it rose 0.20 percent.
Volume reached 908.82 million shares amounting to PHP7.1 billion. Decliners led advancers at 141 to 70, while 41 shares were unchanged. “With most companies have already released their Q2 (second quarter) earnings, attention may now shift to the upcoming US inflation data, which could shape the Fed’s (US Federal Reserve) next policy direction,” Luis Limlingan, Regina Capital Development Corporation head of sales, said.
On the other hand, the local currency finished almost unchanged against the greenback, even touching 56-level mid-trade. It ended the day at 57.04, from 57.11 Friday last week, after opening the week at 56.87. It traded between 57.1 and 56.87, bringing the day’s average to 56.99. Volume reached nearly USD2.2 billion, down from its almost USD2.5 billion at the end of last week.
