PSEi extends slide on corruption woes, peso drop

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) closed lower on Thursday at 6,042.28, down 1.09 percent, as lingering corruption concerns continued to weigh on investor sentiment.

The decline followed another round of Senate hearings that revealed more names allegedly linked to questionable flood control projects. Adding pressure were the peso’s depreciation against the US dollar, which touched the P58 level, and weak leads from Wall Street.

Trading remained sluggish, with net value turnover at P5.74 billion, below the year-to-date average of P5.98 billion. Foreign investors, however, registered net buying worth P462 million.

All sectoral indices ended in the red, led by mining and oil, which tumbled 2.81 percent. Market breadth was negative, with 134 decliners outnumbering 64 advancers.

The peso closed at P58.10 against the US dollar, weaker than Wednesday’s P57.46 finish.