MANILA – Both the local bourse and the currency dropped on Friday following the higher inflation rate in March 2024 as reported by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) continued its losses for four consecutive days dropping below the 6,800-mark to 6,745.46, shedding 81.60 points.
All Shares also fell 25.14 points to 3,555.18.
“Philippine shares continued to drop for its fourth straight day as investors digested the inflation data that came out in the morning. Inflation came in at 3.7 percent, slightly lower than consensus estimates of 3.8 percent, but higher than February’s 3.4 percent,” Regina Capital Development Corp. head of sales Luis Limlingan said.
The Only Services counter ended in the green but almost flat, growing by 0.14 points to 1,846.98.
Leading the losers in terms of points was Mining and Oil, followed by Property, Holding Firms, Industrial, and Financials.
Decliners outnumbered gainers at 118 to 68, leaving 47 unchanged.
Meanwhile, the Philippine peso closed weak Friday at 56.50, shedding 0.14 from the previous day’s closing of 56.36 to a US dollar.
It opened the day weak at 56.52 from the last day’s kick-off at 56.35.
The currency pair traded between a low of 56.46 to a high of 56.59, bringing the average level for the day at 56.57 to the greenback.
The total volume of trade surged to USD1.59 billion from Thursday’s volume of USD1.26 billion. (PNA)
