Philippine Stock Market Dips Amid Profit-Taking, Peso Remains Steady

MANILA – The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) experienced a decline on Thursday, ending a two-day upward trend as investors cashed in on their profits. Meanwhile, the peso concluded the day with minimal change. The PSEi dropped by 0.62 percent to close at 6,241.97, while the All Shares index fell by 0.26 percent to 3,687.05. In sector performance, Industrial and Mining and Oil sectors saw gains of 0.51 percent and 0.23 percent, respectively. Conversely, the Property sector decreased by 1.24 percent, Financials by 0.83 percent, Services by 0.50 percent, and Holding Firms by 0.23 percent. Luis Limlingan, head of sales at Regina Capital Development Corp., noted that investors were reacting to recent market rallies and were influenced by the latest consumer price index (CPI) report and international geopolitical developments. The inflation rate for January remained steady at 2.9 percent, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority. Despite the overall market downturn, more stocks advanced than declined, with a ratio of 91 to 85, and 60 stocks remained unchanged. The peso ended the day at 58.18 against the US dollar, slightly down from its previous close of 58.10. It started the day strongly at the 57-level and fluctuated between 57.88 and 58.20, with an average rate of 58.05. Trading volume decreased to USD1.52 billion from USD1.82 billion the previous day.