Share prices ended lower Tuesday as investors saw more reason to take profit while thepeso closed at 49.50 to the dollar, down from 49.24 on Monday.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) was down 43.95 points to 6,992.43, a 0.62 percent drop.
The broader all shares index was down 16.95 points to 4,298.66, a 0.39 percent drop.
Losers edged gainers 112 to 96 with 52 stocks unchanged. Trading turnover reached P5.1 billion.
The peso opened at 49.21, and intraday high, hitting a low of 49.50. Trading turnover reached $1.07 billion.
Mike Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., said the peso ended weaker anew “after the latest rise in outstanding government debt data to new record highs but offset by softer inflation data.”
The weakness was also influenced by the OPEC+ talks where the proposed increase in oil production failed to be reached after objections from the United Arab Emirates, resulting to new 2.5-year highs for global oil price or since October 2018, thereby could increase the country’s oil import bill.
Reuters reported the peso dropped as data showed the consumer price index (CPI) for May rose 4.1 percent and the six-month average of 4.4 percent came in above the central bank’s target band of 2-4 percent for 2021.
The peso hobbled near one-year lows while its peers made only minor gains as rising crude prices weighed on currencies of most oil importers in the region.
Like its Asian counterparts, the peso had been on a downtrend since the Federal Reserve’s June meeting when it surprised markets with a hawkish shift.
Nicholas Mapa, senior economist at ING, said the peso was on the back foot as economic data continued to point to a sluggish recovery even as the country reeled with a high virus case load.
Japhet Tantiangco, analyst at Philstocks Financial Corp., said the stock market’s drop is a function of profit-taking following a three-day rally.
“Market sentiment was also weighed by the rising oil prices as the OPEC+ fails to reach a deal on their oil production. The rising oil prices pose upside risk to our inflation rate.
Tuesday’s performance is also seen as a show of concern of investors over the national government’s rising outstanding debt level with the end-May 2021 figure reaching P11.07 trillion,” he said.
Most actively traded Century Pacific Food Inc. was down P0.15 to P23.45. AC Energy Corp. was up P0.23 to P8.70. Monde Nissin Corp. was down P0.44 to P16.44. Emperador Inc. was down P0.12 to P12.28. Globe Telecom Inc. was up P44 to P1,964. International Container Terminal Services Inc. was up P0.90 to P164.90. Bloomberry Resorts Corp. was up P0.04 to P6.45. Semirara Mining and Power Corp. was down P0.10 to P16.70. Ayala Land Inc. was down P0.40 to P36.80. Metro Pacific Investments Corp. was down P0.01 to P3.92.
