The Philippine stock index on Thursday continued to dip, losing 112.73  points, or 1.50  percent, to close at 7,424.52.

All sectors were in red,  with Holding Firms as the biggest loser, slipping by 1.77 percent, followed by Miners and Financials down by 1.71 percent and 1.68 percent, respectively.

Jollibee Foods Corporation was the top index gainer, increasing 0.66 percent to P274.80. Nickel Asia Corporation was at the bottom, declining 3.05 percent to P3.81.

“Philippine shares succumbed to profit taking after briefing touching the 7600 level at overbought territory as investors gear up for the US CPI. Markets found little relief by easing oil prices, which was countered by ongoing Middle Eastern tensions,” Regina Capital Development Corp. head of sales Luis Limlingan said.

He cited that the market rallied last week following a strong jobs report, with the Dow reaching a record high. However, the stock analyst said investor enthusiasm waned as expectations grew that the Federal Reserve may slow future rate cuts due to a robust labor market.

The sentiment was also weighed down by the peso's weakening against the dollar, according to Japhet Tantiangco, a senior research analyst at Philstocks Financial Inc.

Value turnover was P5.093 billion. Decliners outweighed Advancers at  122 to 72,  while 64  names were unchanged.

BDO Unibank, Inc. was the most actively traded stock at P628,756,823.00, down by 2.35 percent, followed by International Container Terminal Services, Inc. at P509,515,934.00, down by 1.87  percent.

Meantime, the peso closed weaker at P57.02, from 56.905 on Tuesday. It opened the day at 56.888 and traded between 56.87 and 57.06. The weighted average was 56.998.