The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) and the local currency both closed the week lower.
All counters closed in the negative territory with PSEi slipping by 0.59 percent, or 42.75 points to 7,192.17.
All shares fell by 0.31 percent, or 12.12 points, to 3,830.43.
“Local shares were sold as investors took in some of their profits ahead of the CPI (consumer price index) data release this Friday in the US,” Regina Capital Development Corp. head of sales Luis Limlingan said.
Limlingan said economists expect the November inflation in the US to hit 6.7 percent year on year, which could be a record-high since June 1982.
“If so, this would likely influence the Fed to accelerate tapering in its monthly bond purchases,” he added.
For six consecutive trading days, the PSEi increased as investors picked bargains in markets with no confirmed cases yet of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus disease 2019.
Moreover, all sectors declined below 1 percent except for Financials with losses at 1.35 percent, or 21.76 points to 1,590.47.
This day’s biggest loser was Industrial, down by 35.63 points to 10,397.95; Property, down by 31.54 points to 3,233.90; Mining and Oil, down by 16.76 points to 9,196.45; Holding Firms, down by 9.54 points to 6,968.68; and Services, down by 1.01 points to 1,993.97.
Decliners led gainers at 103 to 99, with 43 firms left unchanged.
Meanwhile, after a strong finish on Thursday, the Philippine peso closed the week’s trading at 50.35 to the dollar.
It dropped PHP0.09 from the previous day’s trading at 50.26.
The currency pair opened the day stronger at 50.28, and traded at the same rate to a high of 50.39.
The day’s weighted average was at 50.33.
Total volume fell to USD696.3 million from Thursday’s USD835.55 million.
Source: Philippines News Agency