The Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) started the week with a whimper as the benchmark measure pulled back while investors heavily traded energy holding company Synergy Grid & Development Philippines Inc., which recently completed an anticipated share sale.
The PSEi sank 0.55 percent, or 40.47 points, to 7,342.37 alongside the broader all-shares index, which shed 0.33 percent, or 13.15 points, to 3,951.53.
Synergy Grid, owned by billionaire businessmen Henry Sy Jr. and Robert Coyiuto Jr., listed shares last Nov. 10 after a P13.85-billion follow-on offering.
It was the most actively traded on Monday with P1.2 billion worth of shares changing hands. The company jumped 9.93 percent to P15.94 apiece by the closing bell.
Subsectors ended mostly lower, with investors awaiting the results of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Monetary Board meeting on Thursday.
US investment bank Goldman Sachs said in a report last week it expected the BSP to keep the policy rate on hold until late 2022.
Holding firms stood out as the sole gainer with a 0.01-percent increase.
Mining and oil led losers as it fell 3.24 percent, followed by property, down 1.1 percent, financials, down 0.95 percent, industrial, down 0.59 percent and services, down 0.57 percent.
A total of 1.3 billion shares valued at P7.95 billion were traded on Monday while foreigners ended up net sellers to the tune of P342.41 million.
Decliners outnumbered gainers, 124 to 71, while 42 companies closed unchanged.
After Synergy Grid, Monde Nissin Corp. was the most actively traded as it gained 2.48 percent to P17.38 per share.
It was followed by AC Energy Corp., up 0.17 percent to P12, AllDay Marts Inc., down 2.44 percent to P0.80, and Converge ICT Solutions Inc., up 1.27 percent to P35.95 per share.