Share prices closed down Thursday on profit-taking.
The peso edged up.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) was down 6.47 points, a 0.1 percent drop to 6,628.64.
The broader All Shares index was up 0.8 point or 0.02 percent to 3,534.64.
Gainers edged losers 90 to 81 with 61 stocks unchanged. Trading turnover reached P3.96 billion.
The peso closed at 55.87 to the dollar, up from 56.20 on Wednesday.
The currency opened at 56.05, an intraday low, and hit a high of 55.86. Trading turnover reached $1.23 billion.
Most Asian currencies were mixed Thursday, as investors awaited more details on the progression of the debt ceiling talks in Washington, even as disappointing Chinese data weighed on sentiment, Reuters reported.
On Wednesday, US President Joe Biden and top US congressional Republican Kevin McCarthy underscored their determination to reach an agreement soon, pledging to negotiate directly on a deal amid estimates that the Treasury could run out of money by the start of June.
However, bleak data from Asia’s largest economy, pointing towards the possibility that China’s post-COVID recovery was not up to the mark, kept investors on the sidelines.
The peso rose about 0.2 percent, after the nation’s central bank left its rates on hold, with inflation on track to ease towards its 2 percent to 4 percent target range for the year.
Claire Alviar, analyst at Philstocks Financial Inc., said the market gave in to last-minute profit-taking. This follows after two consecutive days of uptick.
“market sentiment did not get a boost with the decision of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) as investors had already factored in the pause in interest rate hikes,” she also said.
Most actively traded SM Prime Holdings Inc. was down P0.20 to P33.80. BDO Unibank Inc. was up P0.50 to P136.50. Ayala Corp. was down P1 to P683. Bank of the Philippine Islands was steady at P683. PLDT Inc. was up P30 to P1,275. Ayala Land Inc. was up P0.35 to P27.35. SM Investments Corp. was down P13 to P927. SM Investments Corp. was down P13 to P927. Megaworld Corp. was up P0.07 to P2.09. Jollibee Foods Corp. was up P5.40 to P232.40. Monde Nissin Corp. was down P0.12 to P8.76.
