MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) opened the week in the red as investors took profits amid a lack of fresh catalysts to spur a spending spree.
The benchmark PSEi fell by 0.73 percent, or 48.29 points, to end at 6,571.60 while the broader All-Shares index slipped 0.38 percent, or 13.41 points, to close at 3,510.08.
“The local bourse dropped … amid a lack of fresh catalysts. Investors were awaiting data that could influence the decision of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) regarding interest rates,” said Claire Alviar, assistant manager for research and online engagement at Philstocks Financial Inc.
READ: BSP keeps key rate at 17-year high as inflation risk remains
Earlier this month, the BSP kept the key interest rates at 6.5 percent for the fifth consecutive policy meeting but hinted on possible rate cuts worth 50 basis points later this year.
Net foreign selling
Alviar said that net foreign selling—amounting to P487.62 million—also dragged the PSEi on Monday.
All the subsectors were in the red, except for the industrial index which rose by 0.26 percent.
About 3.42 billion shares valued at P4.19 billion were traded. Losers led winners, 104-84, while 45 issues were unchanged.
The shares of Ayala Land Inc. were the most actively traded, dropping by 1.39 percent to P28.45 each.
This was followed by BDO Unibank Inc., down 0.52 percent to P135; Bank of the Philippine Islands, down 1.53 percent to P121.10; SM Prime Holdings, down 1.09 percent to P27.20; International Container Terminal Services Inc., down 0.85 percent to P350; and DigiPlus Interactive Corp., up 6.39 percent to P14.32. —Tyrone Jasper C. Piad INQ