PH shares retreat as peso sinks to PHP58:USD1

Philippine stocks retreated on Tuesday as the peso’s drop to the PHP 58 level soured sentiment and amid a lack of catalysts.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) dropped by 0.73% or 49.12 points to end at 6,633.66 on Tuesday, while the broader all shares index fell by 0.36% or 12.93 points to close at 3,535.77.

“This Tuesday, the local market dropped by 49.12 points (0.73%) to 6,633.66 as investors worried over the weakness of the local currency against the US dollar,” Philstocks Financial, Inc. Research and Engagement Officer Mikhail Philippe Q. Plopenio said in a Viber message.

“The Philippine peso breached the PHP 58-per-dollar mark, which has been the lowest in nearly two years. Also, the lack of strong positive leads weighed on the market,” Mr. Plopenio said.

The peso closed at a near 19-month low of PHP 58.27 against the dollar on Tuesday, dropping by 37 centavos from the previous day’s finish of PHP 57.90, data from the Bankers Association of the Philippines showed.

This was the local unit’s worst close since it ended at PHP 58.275 on Nov. 8, 2022.

Year to date, the peso has lost PHP 2.90 from its end-2023 close of PHP 55.37.

“Philippine shares weakened as investors watched the peso slide below the PHP 58 towards the US dollar,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan likewise said in a Viber message.

“Wall Street kicked off the week with a mixed start. The Nasdaq Composite hit a new high, fueled by Nvidia’s 2.5% rally ahead of its earnings report. The S&P 500 edged up slightly, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped nearly 0.5%, largely due to a 4.5% decline in JPMorgan following Jamie Dimon’s retirement comments,” Mr. Limlingan added.

Wall Street was mixed on Monday while gold jumped to an all-time high as investors weighed hawkish statements from the US Federal Reserve against evidence of cooling US inflation, Reuters reported.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq led the pack with a boost from chips, while the blue-chip Dow dipped below 40,000 after closing on Friday above that level for the first time.

At home, almost all sectoral indices ended lower, except for services, which rose by 0.77% or 15.28 points to 1,986.40.

Property fell by 1.28% or 33.32 points to 2,567.48; holding firms went down by 1.09% or 64.53 points to 5,831.03; financials decreased by 1.09% or 22.37 points to 2,027.57; mining and oil retreated by 0.53% or 52.04 points to 9,666.46; and industrials declined by 0.53% or 49.44 points to 9,200.38.

Value turnover rose to PHP 9.8 billion on Tuesday with 2.95 billion shares changing hands from the PHP 5.8 billion with 513.47 million issues traded on Monday.

Decliners beat advancers, 99 against 86, while 48 names closed unchanged.

Net foreign selling declined to PHP 70.56 million on Tuesday from PHP 248.11 million on Monday. — R.M.D. Ochave with Reuters