Share prices closed lower Monday on profit-taking as investors waited for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) later in the day.
The peso was also down.
The Philippine Stock Exchange idex was down 16.31 points, a 0.25 percent drop, to 6,631.25.
The broader All Shares index was down 4.19 points or 0.12 percent to 3,526.71.
Losers edged gainers 114 to 73 with 41 stocks unchanged. Trading turnover reached P3.11 billion.
The peso closed at 54.755 to the dollar, down from 54.52 on Friday.
The currency opened at 54.68 and hit a high of 54.56 and a low of 54.76. Trading turnover reached $1.17 billion.
Most emerging Asian currencies lost ground on Monday, with the Malaysian ringgit and Thai baht leading losses, as investors braced for a likely US Federal Reserve rate hike this week, even as expectations rose for a pause in the future, Reuters reported.
Market participants globally expect a 25-basis-point increase at the Federal Open Market Committee meeting which concludes late on Wednesday, with all eyes on Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech on the trajectory of hikes in the near term.
As of 0710 GMT, the dollar index, which measures the strength of the greenback against six major rivals, firmed to 101.23.
Claire Alviar, analyst at Philstocks Financial Inc., said last-minute profit-taking pushed the market down.
The market was up for three consecutive days last week.
“Investors were also waiting for the President’s SONA later which would be crucial in shaping investors’ sentiment. Given this, many stayed on the sidelines,” she said.
Most actively traded BDO Unibank Inc. was up P1.30 to P150. Metro Pacific Investments Corp. was down P0.01 to P4.91. Globe Telecom Inc. was up P30 to P1,920. Ayala Land Inc. was up P0.10 to P27.50. Bank of the Philippine Islands was steady at P115. Ayala Corp. was up P4.50 to P639. International Container Terminal Services Inc. was down P4.20 to P204. Bloomberry Resorts Corp. was up P0.06 to P11.78. SM Investments Corp. was down P17 to P923. Universal Robina Corp. was down P1.90 to P131.10.
