By Joann Villanueva/PNA
MANILA — Wait-and-see stance ahead of the release of Philippines’ March 2019 inflation rate on Friday resulted in the decline of the main equities gauge and weakening of the peso.
The Philippines Stock Exchange index (PSEi) shed 0.52 percent, or 40.93 points, to 7,854.13 points on Thursday.
Aside from the inflation report, a trader said market sentiments are also affected by the ongoing trade discussions between officials of the United States and China.
The slide of the PSEi was mirrored by the All Shares after it contracted by 0.16 percent, or 7.72 points, to 4,832.62 points.
Most of the sectors also ended on the red, led by the Financials at 1.09 points and was followed by the Services, 0.83 percent; Holding Firms, 0.57 percent; and Property, 0.06 percent.
On the other hand, Industrial rose by 0.29 percent and Mining and Oil, 0.27 percent.
Volume reached 1.29 billion shares amounting to PHP5.91 billion.
Losers led gainers at 109 to 87, while 46 were unchanged.
Relatively, the local currency ended the day at 52.18 from 52.08 a day ago.
It opened the day at 52.13, a big improvement from its 52.38 start in the previous session.
It traded between 52.195 and 52.01, bringing the average for the day to 52.105.
Volume reached USD1.17 billion from USD948.95 million a day ago.
The currency pair is seen to range between 52.00 and 52.20 Friday.
