MANILA — US air stikes against the Syrian regime upped investors’ risk-off sentiment causing both the Philippine peso and the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) to retreat for the second day in row Monday.
The local currency finished the day at 52.07 from 51.95 Friday last week and a trader traced this to the tension in the Middle East following US President Donald Trump’s order to launch some 105 Tomahawk cruise missles on targets in Syria.
The trader said fears for retaliation from Russia, China or Iran are making investors anxious resulting in the volatility of global financial markets.
For the day, the local unit opened at 51.92, slightly better than the 52.04 last April 13. It traded between 52.11 and 51.92, resulting in an average of 52.027. Volume for the day reached USD518.1 million, down from USD522.65 million in the previous session.
The currency pair is seen to trade between 51.90 and 52.10 Tuesday.
PSEi was on the same page during the day after it fell 0.38 percent, or 29.73 points, to 7,870.25 points. Most of the other counters tracked the main gauge, with the All Shares down by 0.49 percent, or 23.37 points, to 4,771.28 points.
The sectors were led by Services, which declined by 1.09 percent; and was followed by Mining and Oil, 0.65 percent; Holding Firms, 0.53 percent; Industrial, 0.43 percent; and Financials, 0.37 percent.
Only Property finished the day with gains after rising 0.28 percent.
Volume reached 1.68 billion shares amounting to Php4.8 billion shares. Losers led gainers at 130 to 68 while 49 shares were unchanged. (Joann Villanueva/PNA)
