Share prices and the peso continued to decline as risk aversion among investors prevailed while awaiting the US Fed’s meeting on Friday.
Michael Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., said the peso dropped at the tail-end of the seasonal increase in overseas Filipino workers remittances and the conversion for tuition and other school-opening payments.
Philstocks Financial Inc. said the drop was driven by “investors’ worry over the local currency which has been showing signs of weakening against the dollar.”
“Also, many are cautious ahead of the policy decisions of the Bank of Japan and the Federal Reserve, which are set this week,” it said.
“Lastly, the Department of Budget and Management’s projection that the national debt will increase by 8.08 percent to P17.35 trillion by end-2025 weighed on the sentiment,” it added.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index was down 42.87 points to 6,606.36, a 0.64 percent drop.
The broader All Shares index was down 17.56 points or 0.49 percent to 3,587.77.
Losers edged gainers 118 to 74 with 43 stocks unchanged. Trading turnover reached P4.63 billion.
The peso closed at 58.645 to the dollar, down from 58.511 on Monday. The currency opened at 58.60 and hit a high of 58.58 and a low of 58.695. Trading turnover reached $1.23 billion.
Focus remained, however, squarely on key central bank policy decisions that left already unnerved investors unsure about taking on riskier bets, Reuters reported.
Currencies in the region were largely rangebound as uncertainty around the midweek monetary policy meetings at the Bank of Japan (BOJ) and the US Federal Reserve sent investors scurrying for the safety of the dollar.
Most actively traded BDO Unibank Inc. was down P4 to P136.50. Ayala Land Inc. was down P0.90 to P30.05. SM Investments Corp. ws down P10 to P907. International Container Terminal Services Inc. was up P3 to P353. Bank of the Philippine Islands was down P0.90 to P122.10. Ayala Corp. was up P2 to P593. SM Prime Holdings Inc. was down P0.15 to P29.25. Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. was down P1.10 to P68. GT Capital Holdings Inc. was down P14.50 to P575.50. PLDT Inc. was up P8 to P1,493.
