Frail peso pulls down PSEI
MANILA, Philippines — The local bourse on Thursday fell to its lowest this year as the Philippine peso weakened further against the US dollar, coupled with growing inflation concerns.
The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) slipped by 0.62 percent, or 39.66 points, to close at 6,371.75. This marks the bourse’s lowest for the year, falling further than the 6,404.97 recorded in April due to escalating conflict in the Middle East.
The broader All Shares Index likewise shed 0.76 percent, or 26.17 points, to 3,425.57.
A total of 666.59 million shares worth P5.9 billion changed hands, stock exchange data showed.
READ: Asian shares decline after a mixed post-holiday session on Wall Street
All sectors were in the red except holding firms, which inched up by 0.38 percent, buoyed by increases in index heavyweight Sy family-led SM Investments Corp., as well as Aboitiz Equity Ventures.
Article continues after this advertisementMikhail Plopenio, researcher at Philstocks Financial Inc., explained that the rise in the United States’ long-term Treasury yields resulted in “the further decline of the Philippine peso … which in turn weighed on the local bourse.”
“Also, inflation worries were heightened after the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas stated that there is still a high probability that inflation may breach the upper end of the 2- to 4-percent target range,” he added.
