PSEi snaps winning streak, peso slightly up

Manila: The local stock market slipped on Wednesday following its two-day winning streak while the peso closed slightly stronger against the dollar. The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) declined by 0.26 percent to 7,437 points. All Shares, however, went up by 0.27 percent to 4,097.56. "Philippine shares settled downwards, settling back to the 7,400 level, as investor optimism propelled the recovery further, amidst expectations that the monetary board would announce another rate cut this Wednesday," Regina Capital Development Corporation managing director Luis Limlingan said. More than half of the sectoral indices closed in the red, with Mining and Oil recording the biggest decline at 1.08 percent. Financials and Industrials, meanwhile, rose by 0.04 percent and 0.32 percent. Decliners led advancers at 101 to 86, leaving 75 unchanged. The peso, meanwhile, closed at 57.7 against the dollar, slightly up from the 57.865 finish on Tuesday. It opened at 57.9 and traded between 57.7 and 57.92, bringing the weighted average of the day to 57.824. Volume of trade declined to USD1.3 billion from USD1.4 billion. Source: Philippines News Agency