Shares traded quietly as investors awaited the latest inflation numbers and Federal Open Market Committee minutes.

US stocks fell off their highs and bond yields ticked up when the Bank of England said its market intervention would be over soon and pension funds have just three days to rebalance positions, Regina Capital Development Corp. managing director Luis Limlingan said.

While US Federal Reserves Chair Jerome Powell has acknowledged that aggressive interest rate increases could be painful, the central bank will continue to charge forward in its fight to lower inflation.

Oil prices edged lower as investors weighed global recession fears against potentially tighter supply. Brent crude futures fell 69 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $97.23 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate crude declined by 36 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $92.57 a barrel.

Among the key market gainers are BDO Unibank which rose1.05 percent, SM Investments Corp. higher by 0.66 percent, and SM Prime Holdings Inc., up 0.65 percent.

Heavy losers are Semirara Mining and Power Corp. and DMCI Holdings.

Regional bourses weak

Regional markets mostly slid and oil prices tumbled as markets contended with growing recession worries with the Fed and other central banks moving aggressively to counter inflation.

A downcast International Monetary Fund report highlighted the risks of elevated inflation and other fallout from Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The mood darkened also to new China Covid-19 crackdowns and continued upheaval in British financial markets.

With the focus on inflation, analysts said the US consumer price index data released later this week will be crucial to the direction of risk assets.