PSEi down, peso posts slight gains vs. dollar

Philippine financial markets were mixed on Wednesday, with local stock prices falling while the peso strengthened slightly against the US dollar amid possible market intervention.

The main Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) shed 3.40 points or 0.06% to 5,893.40, while the broader All Shares index declined by 7.67 points or 0.23% to 3,339.88.

“The local stock market declined for a third straight session, slipping below the 5,900 level amid cautious investor sentiment,” Regina Capital Development Corp. head of sales Luis Limlingan said in a mobile message.

“The drop was driven by continued foreign selling, weakness in key sectors, higher global oil prices, a weaker peso, and softer first-quarter earnings from some listed firms,” he added.

Sectoral indices were mixed — financials down 0.56%, industrial down 0.79%, and mining and oil down 0.33%, while holding firms were up 0.09%, property up 0.18%, and services up 0.33%.

More than 1.237 billion shares, valued at P5.673 billion, changed hands. Decliners led advancers, 111 to 74, while 59 issues were unchanged.

The Philippine peso, meanwhile, closed Wednesday at P61.74:$1, a centavo stronger than Tuesday’s finish of P61.75:$1, the worst showing of the local currency in history.

“The US dollar/peso exchange rate corrected slightly lower… amid possible intervention/smoothening of market volatility at 61.70 levels recently,” Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael Ricafort said in a separate mobile message.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) governor Eli Remolona Jr. has maintained that the central bank does not target a specific level but instead moves when big swings occur.—LDF, GMA News