Manila: Investors remained cautious on Monday ahead of fresh positive market catalysts, dragging both the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) and the peso lower. The local bourse's main index declined by 0.56 percent to 6,261.80 points, while the broader All Shares dropped 0.18 percent to 3,432.87 points.

According to Philippines News Agency, half of the sectoral gauges tracked the main index downward: Services fell by 1.48 percent; Holding Firms decreased by 1.25 percent; and Property declined by 0.76 percent. Conversely, Mining and Oil saw an increase of 3.40 percent; Industrial rose by 1.20 percent; and Financials went up by 0.84 percent.

Trading volume reached 1.58 billion shares, amounting to PHP4.59 billion. Advancers surpassed decliners at 113 to 85, with 58 shares remaining unchanged. Luis Limlingan, head of sales at Regina Capital Development Corporation, noted, 'Investors stayed on the sidelines while awaiting fresh positive catalysts to drive market sentiment. Cautious positioning continued to limit buying interest and kept the market range-bound.'

Meanwhile, the local currency ended the week's first trading day at 61.49 to a greenback, slightly weaker from its 61.45 finish last Friday. The peso opened the day at 61.55, trading between 61.6 and 61.46, with an average of 61.53 for the day. Trading volume for the peso decreased to USD1.19 billion from USD1.42 billion at the end of last week.