PH stocks, peso weaken amid post-SONA caution

MANILA – The Philippine stock market and the peso both ended lower on Thursday as investors adopted a cautious stance while monitoring developments following President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA) and the latest policy decision of the US Federal Reserve.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) declined by 0.74 percent, closing at 6,305.75, while the broader All Shares index fell 0.93 percent to 3,415.35.

Among the sectoral indices, Mining and Oil posted the biggest gain at 1.51 percent, followed by Financials at 0.24 percent and Property at 0.09 percent.

Meanwhile, Industrial recorded the largest decline at 3.81 percent, while Holding Firms slipped 0.68 percent and Services edged down 0.09 percent.

Market activity totaled nearly 997.6 million shares valued at PHP6.23 billion. Declining issues outnumbered advancing stocks, 113 to 65, while 54 shares closed unchanged.

Luis Limlingan, head of sales at Regina Capital Development Corp., said investors remained focused on developments related to the SONA, particularly issues concerning the power sector.

He added that market sentiment was also dampened by the US Federal Reserve’s decision to keep interest rates unchanged, prompting investors to trade cautiously while assessing both global monetary policy and domestic developments.

Following its two-day meeting that ended on July 29, the Federal Open Market Committee kept the benchmark interest rate within the 3.5 percent to 3.75 percent range, marking its fifth consecutive pause as inflation remains above the Fed’s 2 percent target.

The Philippine peso also weakened against the US dollar, closing at 61.56 from 61.41 in the previous session.

The local currency opened stronger at 61.41 from the previous day's opening of 61.65 and traded between 61.34 and 61.58 during the session, with an average exchange rate of 61.43.

Dollar trading volume reached USD1.37 billion, lower than the USD1.62 billion recorded in the previous trading session. (PNA) -Philippine News Agency