Philippine Stock Exchange Halts Five-Day Rally Amid Profit-Taking, Peso Declines

MANILA – Investors took profits in Monday’s trading session, halting a five-day rally of the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi), while the peso experienced a depreciation, moving to the 56-level against the US dollar.

According to Philippines News Agency, the PSEi declined by 42.34 points, closing at 6,807.82, though it remained above the 6,800 level. The All Shares index also saw a decrease, dropping 8.15 points to end at 3,566.06.

Most sectors ended the day in the red, with the notable exception of the Services sector, which rose by 7.31 points to reach 1,720.84. The Industrial sector faced the most significant loss, dropping 97.93 points to 9,092.86, followed by declines in Mining and Oil by 69.49 points to 8,918.89, Property by 38.42 points to 2,931.37, Holding Firms by 33.14 points to 6,388.20, and Financials by 9.13 points to 1,955.80.

Claire Alviar, assistant research manager at Philstocks Financial, Inc., indicated that many investors exercised caution ahead of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) policy meeting scheduled for the week. Alviar also noted that the PSEi’s net market value turnover for the day was PHP4.17 billion, with the market trading between the support level of 6,700 and the resistance level of 7,000.

The trading session concluded with 106 losers outpacing 81 gainers, and 51 firms remained unchanged. In the currency market, the peso weakened, closing at 56.01 to a US dollar, compared to 55.91 at the end of the previous week. The peso opened at 56.05 and fluctuated between 55.98 and 56.16 against the dollar, with a weighted average of 56.07 for the day. Furthermore, the volume of trade decreased to USD947.75 million from USD1.2 billion in the previous week’s trading.