Manila: The local stock market fell by more than 1 percent as investors remained cautious following the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' (BSP) higher inflation projection, while the peso strengthened on the last trading day of the week. The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) went down by 1.26 percent to 5,833.64, while All Shares slipped 0.70 percent to 3,320.20.

According to Philippines News Agency, all sectors closed in the red, with Mining and Oil recording the biggest decline at 2.83 percent, followed by Property, 1.39 percent; Holding Firms, 1.12 percent; Financials, 1.07 percent; Services, 0.99 percent; and Industrial, 0.84 percent. "The Philippine market closed lower as investors stayed cautious following the BSP's projection that inflation for April could reach as high as 6.4 percent," Regina Capital Development Corp., head of sales, Luis Limlingan, said.

"Sentiment was further weighed down by concerns over the persistently depreciation of the local currency in recent sessions," Limlingan added. He noted that risk appetite remained subdued as traders assessed the implications of elevated inflation and its potential impact on monetary policy. "The cautious tone kept equities under pressure throughout the session," he said. Decliners led advancers, 113 to 74, leaving 58 unchanged.

The peso, meanwhile, recovered, closing at 61.485 to the dollar from Wednesday's 61.567 finish. It opened at 61.651 and traded between 61.35 and 61.75. The day's weighted average was at 61.54. Volume of trade went up to USD2.48 billion from the previous day's USD1.60 billion.

There will be no trading on Friday (May 1), in observance of Labor Day, a regular holiday. Trading will resume on Monday (May 4).