MANILA: The local bourse extended its losses for the third straight day, while the peso closed the week almost flat on Friday.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) went down by 0.47 percent to 6,615.55, with All Shares also losing 0.18 percent, closing at 3,498.17 level.

Philstock Financials, Inc. assistant research manager Claire Alviar attributed the PSEi’s weakness to investors’ maintained caution while waiting for the April 2024 inflation report of the Philippine Statistics Authority.

Investors are expecting faster inflation rate in April compared to its previous month.

‘Also, investors are awaiting the outlook of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) regarding interest rates due to lingering inflationary pressures,’ Alviar added.

During this day’s trading, Property and Services recorded losses at 1.99 and 0.50 percent, respectively.

On the other hand, Mining and Oil counter led gainers, with shares increasing by 1.14 percent to 8,799.97. This was followed by Holding Firms, Financials, and Ind
ustrial.

‘(F)oreign investors weighed on the market further, as they registered a net outflow of PHP1.29 billion. The net market value turnover stood at PHP4.26 billion,’ Alviar said.

There were 94 firms ending in the green territory and 93 in the red, with shares of 55 companies remaining unchanged.

Meanwhile, the Philippine peso closed almost flat at 57.35 to a US dollar from Thursday’s finish of 57.34 to a dollar.

It opened the day strong at 57.40 from the previous day’s kick-off of 57.70, before trading between a low of 57.35 and a high of 57.50.

The weighted average level for the day was at 57.41 to the greenback.

Volume of trade decreased to USD1.41 billion from USD1.54 billion on Thursday. (PNA)

Source: Philippines News Agency