MANILA – The Philippine stock market closed in negative territory on Thursday, weighed down by investor concerns over escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, while the peso weakened further against the US dollar.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) slipped by 0.10 percent to finish at 5,983.81, while the All Shares index declined 0.19 percent to 3,369.72.
Sector performance was mixed, with Mining and Oil leading the losses at 1.40 percent, followed by Financials at 1.13 percent and Industrials at 0.33 percent. Meanwhile, gains were seen in Services, up 0.41 percent, Property at 0.13 percent, and Holding Firms at 0.07 percent.
Total trading reached 4.03 billion shares valued at PHP5.74 billion. Market breadth remained negative, with 102 decliners against 92 advancers, while 62 stocks closed unchanged.
Philstocks Financials Inc. noted that investor sentiment remained subdued due to unresolved tensions between the United States and Iran, which continue to cloud the global economic outlook.
Traders also held back ahead of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ policy decision, which resulted in a 25-basis-point increase in interest rates.
In the currency market, the peso depreciated to 60.48 per US dollar, weaker than the previous close of 60.13.
Michael Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., said the peso’s decline was influenced by higher oil prices driven by Middle East developments, as well as shifts in the US dollar’s performance versus other major currencies.
The peso opened the day at 60.25 and moved within a range of 60.25 to 60.58, averaging 60.46. Forex turnover climbed to USD1.83 billion, up from USD1.61 billion in the previous session.
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