Share prices ended lower Thursday on profit-taking. The peso closed flat.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index was down 67.55 points to 6,660.05, a 1 percent drop.
The broader all shares index was down 22.28 points to 3,567.78, a 0.62 percent drop.
Losers edged gainers 105 to 79 with 36 stocks unchanged. Trading turnover reached P8.01 billion.
The peso closed at 52.45, same as Wednesday’s.
The currency opened at 52.41, and hit a high of 52.30 and a low of 52.47. Trading turnover reached $1.12 billion.
Michael Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., said the peso’s close while unchanged is among its weakest 2.5 years or since August 2019. It was also partly supported by the overnight downward correction in global oil prices and the latest declines in US Treasury yields, with the 10-year benchmark near three-week lows at 2.86 percent.
Regional currencies came under pressure too, even as the US dollar eased, as risk sentiment remained fragile after US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell ratcheted up the hawkish rhetoric on Wednesday by saying the bank would push interest rates as high as needed to stem inflation, Reuters reported.
Japhet Tantiangco, analyst at Philstocks Financial Inc., said investors book gains from the market’s three-day rally since Monday.
“The profit-taking was backed by the negative spillovers from Wall Street’s overnight plunge amid inflation and interest rate worries in the US. Investors also traded cautiously while waiting for the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ policy rate decision,” he said.
Foreign funds were net sellers worth P315.02 million.
Most actively traded SM Prime Holdings Inc. was down P0.45 to P36.25. Monde Nissin Corp. was up P0.76 to P15.70. BDO Unibank Inc. was up P4.80 to P131.40. International Container Terminal Services Inc. was down P6.40 to P211.40. SM Investments Corp. was down P31 to P839. Ayala Land Inc. was down P0.85 to P27.95. Globe Telecom Inc. was up P40 to P2,498. Ayala Corp. was up P2 to P680. PLDT Inc. was down P20 to P1,951.
