PH stocks, peso close lower as market lacks catalysts

MANILA – Investors remained cautious on Monday ahead of fresh positive market catalysts, dragging both the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) and the peso lower.

The local bourse’s main index declined by 0.56 percent to 6,261.80 points, while the broader All Shares dropped 0.18 percent to 3,432.87 points.

Half of the sectoral gauges tracked the main index downward: Services, down 1.48 percent; Holding Firms, 1.25 percent; and Property, 0.76 percent.

On the other hand, Mining and Oil rose 3.40 percent; Industrial, 1.20 percent; and Financials, 0.84 percent.

Volume reached 1.58 billion shares, amounting to PHP4.59 billion.

Advancers led decliners at 113 to 85, while 58 shares were unchanged.

“Investors stayed on the sidelines while awaiting fresh positive catalysts to drive market sentiment. Cautious positioning continued to limit buying interest and kept the market range-bound,” Luis Limlingan, Regina Capital Development Corporation head of sales, said.

Meanwhile, the local currency finished the week’s first trading day at 61.49 to a greenback from its 61.45 finish last Friday.

It opened the day weaker at 61.55, and traded between 61.6 and 61.46. The average for the day stood at 61.53.

Volume went down to USD1.19 billion from USD1.42 billion at the end of last week. (PNA)