Manila: Profit-taking ended the Philippine Stock Exchange index's (PSEi) three-day rally on Thursday but the peso gained against the greenback. The local bourse's main index shed 0.69 percent to 5,911.93 points, and the broader All Shares by 0.49 percent to 3,323.08 points. All the sectoral gauges also finished the day in the negative territory, except for Financials, which fell 1.29 percent. Services posted the biggest drop at 2.23 percent and was trailed by Mining and Oil, 1.42 percent; Property, 0.76 percent; Industrial, 0.30 percent; and Holding Firms, 0.26 percent. Volume is still low at 377.77 million shares, amounting to nearly PHP7 million. Decliners led advancers at 105 to 68, while 70 shares were unchanged.
According to Philippines News Agency, 'The Philippine market ended lower as profit-taking occurred following three consecutive days of gains. Investors remained selective in their positioning as they awaited the release of the latest inflation data tomorrow,' Luis Limlingan, Regina Capital Development Corporation head of sales, said. 'Cautious sentiment kept overall trading activity measured, with market participants looking for clues on the direction of interest rates and the broader economy.'
On the other hand, the local currency recovered against the U.S. dollar and closed the day at 61.62 from its 61.74 close Wednesday. This, even after it opened the day weaker at 61.75 compared to its 61.68 start in the previous session. It traded between 61.75 and 61.54, bringing the day's average to 61.63. Volume reached USD2.02 billion, up from day-ago's USD1.89 billion.
