PNA graphics
MANILA – The local stock barometer dropped on Thursday as investors followed the movement of the latest Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) rebalancing while the peso strengthened.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) lost 120.04 points to 6,175.25, with all shares also down by 47.41 points to 3,334.78.
All counters ended in the negative territory, except for Mining and Oil which shares inching up slightly by 1.42 points to 10,083.72.
The biggest loser among sectors was Industrial, with shares dropping by 169.07 points to 8,689.90.
This was followed by Holding Firms, down by 93.95 points to 5,904.97; Property, 90.14 points to 2,507.86; Services, 31.73 points to 1,500.54; and Financials, 5.90 points to 1,850.03.
“Local investors followed the movement of the latest MSCI rebalancing to end the month of August, while others digested weaker-than-expected payrolls data and annual gross domestic product growth forecast that nevertheless suggested the Fed(eral Reserve) could soon be done hiking rates, boosting equities,” Regina Capital Development Corp. head of sales Luis Limlingan said.
Decliners outnumbered advancers at 104 to 71, with shares of 47 firms remaining unchanged.
Meanwhile, the peso strengthened by 0.13 at 56.56 to a US dollar from 56.73 finish the other day.
The local currency started the day at 56.70, sideways from previous day’s kick off at 56.60.
The currency pair traded between a low of 56.57 to a high of 56.74, bringing the average level for the day at 56.65 to a dollar.
Volume of trade reached USD1.48 billion, higher than the volume on Wednesday amounting to USD1.23 billion. (PNA)
