Philippine shares ended lower on Monday as investors cashed in recent gains and braced for a string of market-moving data later in the week.
Domestic inflation figures are due out on Friday, while the S&P Global Purchasing Manag-ers’ Index is set for release Tuesday.
From the US, the Fed chairman’s speech at the European Central Bank Forum in Sintra, Por-tugal is expected also on Tuesday.
The benchmark PSEi lost 43.33 points, or 0.68 percent, to close at 6,364.94, snapping ear-lier session gains driven by quarter-end window dressing.
The broader All Shares fell 10.39 points, or 0.27 percent, to 3,781.67.
Despite the pullback, advancing stocks outnumbered decliners 108 to 82, with 61 issues unchanged — a sign of bargain-hunting in second- and third-tier counters.
Total turnover reached P7.89 billion, with more than 1.05 billion shares changing hands across 81,360 trades. Foreign investors remained net buyers, posting P114.09 million in net inflows, on P3.86 billion in total buys and ₱3.75 billion in sales.
Despite Monday’s dip, the PSEi still closed the month of June up 3.69 percent from its end-May finish at 6,341.53, buoyed by foreign inflows and end-of-quarter portfolio realign-ments.
Luis Limlingan, managing director at Regina Capital Development Corp., said the market opened on a strong note due to quarter-end positioning, but reversed course late in the ses-sion as traders took profit ahead of critical economic readings.
“Focus is on Friday’s June inflation print and Tuesday’s S&P Global Purchasing Managers’ Index,” Limlingan said. “Easing inflation could support expectations for a possible rate cut by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.”
Limlingan added that investors now are also tracking developments in the US ahead of Thursday’s nonfarm payrolls report, a key gauge of labor market strength, which could in-fluence the US Federal Reserve’s monetary policy trajectory.
Also awaited is US Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech at the European Central Bank Forum in Sintra, Portugal on Tuesday, where investors hope to gain insights on the Fed’s policy out-look.
