Local bourse ends in negative; peso continues to weaken

The Philippine benchmark index on Thursday remained in negative after shredding 13.05 points, or 0.18 percent, to close at 7,411.47.

Sectors were equally split, with Properties leading the green territory at 0.55 percent, followed by Holding Firms by 0.28 percent and Financials by 0.19 percent.

Meanwhile, Services was the main loser, decreasing by 1.55 percent, and Miners and Industrials by 0.99 percent and 0.29 percent, respectively.

JG Summit Holdings, Inc. was the top index producer, jumping 2.27 percent to P27.00. Bloomberry Resorts Corporation was at the bottom, declining 2.97 percent to P7.85.

“Philippine shares still closed slightly lower as investors now await the September CPI and PPI reports, which are expected to come in at around 2.3 percent according to latest street estimates. Meanwhile, U.S. stocks rose for a second session, with the S&P 500 and Dow closing at record highs as tech stocks rallied and optimism grew about the Fed's ability to manage a soft landing,” Regina Capital Development Corp. head of sales Luis Limlingan said in a Viber message.

He added that the weakening of the currency against the dollar also weighed on the bourse’s performance.

The net market value turnover was P4.044 billion. Advancers exceed Decliners at 111 to 99, while 48 names remain unchanged.

International Container Terminal Services, Inc. was the most actively traded stock at P669,007,318.00, down by 2.19 percent, followed by BDO Unibank, Inc. at 285,429,168.00, up by 0.63 percent.

Meantime, the peso continued to weaken at P57.36 to a dollar from 57.02 on Wednesday. It opened the day at 57.15 and traded between 57.11 and 57.36. The weighted average was 57.161.