Manila: Heavy selling earlier in the day resulted in the negative close of the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) Monday, but the Philippine peso ended sideways against the U.S. dollar. The local bourse’s main index shed 1.71 percent to 5,828.06 points, and the All Shares by 1.24 percent to 3,548.90 points.

According to Philippines News Agency, only the Services index ended with gains, with 0.03 percent, but the rest finished on the red, led by the Financials that fell 3.33 percent. Mining and Oil fell 2.11 percent, trailed by Property, 1.97 percent; Holding Firms, 1.34 percent; and Industrial, 1.24 percent. Volume was thin at 801.95 million shares, amounting to PHP9.8 billion.

‘The PSEi gapped down as sellers heavily influenced the market early in the session. Traders are likely already pricing in the upcoming GDP (gross domestic product) and inflation data to be released this week, while overall sentiment remains cautious,’ Luis Limlingan, Regina Capital Development Corporation head of sales, said. He said ‘gains were limited as investors grew concerned that the (U.S.) Fed (Federal Reserve) may take a more cautious approach to cutting rates.’

The local currency ended the week’s first trading day at 58.79 against the greenback from its 58.85 close on Thursday last week. There was no trading last Friday, a declared special non-working holiday. The peso opened the trading at 58.8 and ranged within 58.69 and 58.83. The average for the day stood at 58.75. Volume reached nearly USD1.33 billion, lower than the USD2.22 billion in the previous trading session.