MANILA – Both the local shares and currency finished the day with losses.
The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) shed 36.65 points at 6,255.74, with All Shares also down by 14.32 points at 3,339.14.
All counters closed in the red territory except for Services, which inched up by 2.65 points to 1,552.56.
The biggest decline in shares came from the Mining and Oil sector, which lost 52.82 points during this day's trading, followed by Holding Firms, which was down by 49.87 points; Property, 32.75 points; Industrial, 12.87 points; and Financials, 6.42 points.
Philstock Financials, Inc. assistant research manager Claire Alviar said investors were in a wait-and-see mode as they waited for the decisions of the central banks of the country and the United States on their respective interest rates.
“Aside from the interest rates decision, investors also want to know their outlook on inflation rate and the timing of monetary policy easing,” she said.
“Moreover, net foreign selling worth PHP280.55 million exerted downward pressure on the market. The net market value turnover stood at PHP2.84 billion.”
The losers outpaced the gainers at 95 to 64, with 47 left unchanged.
Meanwhile, the Philippine peso continued to weaken, falling back to the 56-level on Wednesday.
The peso shed against the US dollar by 0.49, closing at 56.06 from the previous day’s 55.57.
Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael Ricafort said the local currency’s close was among the weakest in a month.
Ricafort said one of the local factors that weakened the peso was the statement of the weather bureau on the possible impacts of El Niño next year, such as reduced agricultural production that could lead to higher food prices and contribute to inflationary pressures.
The peso opened the day at 55.67 from the previous day’s kickoff at 55.60 to the US dollar.
The currency pair traded from 55.67 to 56.08, bringing the day’s average to 55.86 to the greenback.
The volume of trade increased to USD1.6 billion from Tuesday’s volume of USD1 billion.
“For tomorrow, the peso exchange rate could range (from) the 55.90 to 56.10 levels,” the economist projected. (PNA)
