Manila: Late-session selling pushed the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) to another negative close on Monday, while the peso also ended weaker against the US dollar. The local bourse's main index shed 0.42 percent to 6,437.78 points, with the broader All Shares index declining by 0.22 percent to 3,644.20 points.

According to Philippines News Agency, most of the sectoral gauges also ended the day in the red. Financials decreased by 1.22 percent, Mining and Oil fell by 0.68 percent, Holding Firms dropped by 0.66 percent, and Property slipped by 0.11 percent. In contrast, Services gained 0.55 percent, while Industrials remained nearly flat with a slight increase of 0.01 percent.

The volume of trade reached 2.25 billion shares, amounting to PHP5.2 billion. Losers outnumbered gainers at 112 to 87, while 67 shares remained unchanged. "Profit-taking persisted as investors continued to lock in gains. Market sentiment remained cautious, with the index still trading at overbought levels," noted Luis Limlingan, head of sales at Regina Capital Development Corporation.

Relatively, the peso weakened to 59.44 against the US dollar from 59.35 last Friday. It opened at 59.34 and traded between 59.29 and 59.45, with a daily average of 59.39. Trading volume in the forex market increased to USD1.12 billion from USD852.7 million previously.