MANILA – Philippine shares ended lower on Thursday as inflation concerns weighed on investor sentiment, even as the peso recovered against the US dollar ahead of the Labor Day break.
The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) lost 1.26 percent to finish at 5,833.64, while the All Shares index eased 0.70 percent to 3,320.20.
All major sectors closed in the red, with Mining and Oil posting the steepest drop at 2.83 percent. It was followed by Property (-1.39 percent), Holding Firms (-1.12 percent), Financials (-1.07 percent), Services (-0.99 percent), and Industrial (-0.84 percent).
Regina Capital Development Corp. head of sales Luis Limlingan said the downturn was driven by cautious trading after the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) raised its inflation projection for April to as high as 6.4 percent.
He added that continued peso depreciation in recent sessions also dampened market confidence.
“Traders remained cautious as they assessed how elevated inflation could influence future monetary policy decisions,” Limlingan said.
He noted that the subdued risk appetite kept equities under pressure throughout the trading day.
Market activity showed 113 losers against 74 gainers, while 58 issues were unchanged.
In the currency market, the peso strengthened, closing at 61.485 per dollar from 61.567 previously.
It opened at 61.651 and traded between 61.35 and 61.75, with an average of 61.54.
Total trading volume rose to USD2.48 billion from USD1.60 billion in the prior session.
The stock market will be closed on Friday, May 1, in observance of Labor Day, and will resume trading on Monday, May 4.
ia/xf
