PSEi drops below 6,000 after rate hike, peso slump

MANILA, Philippines — The local stock barometer fell below the 6,000 level amid heavy selling pressure following the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)’s recent rate hike and the continued slump of the peso against the dollar.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) declined for a fourth consecutive session, slip ping by 0.8 percent or 48.25 points to 5,956.33.

The broader All Shares index also shed 0.61 percent or 20.51 points, settling at 3,318.99.

Luis Limlingan of Regina Capital said PSEi dropped below 6,000 level once again as intense selling pressure persisted, with the MSCI Philippine Index rebalancing influencing a significant portion of market volume.

He said the rebalancing trig gered broad-based selling across the market as investors adjusted their positions.

Limlingan said sentiment was fur ther weighed by the recent decision of the central bank’s Monetary Board to hike interest rates by another 25 basis points, keeping investors cautious.

Meanwhile, the peso also slumped to a fresh record low, weakening by 37.7 centavos to close at 62.265 to $1 yesterday from Thursday’s all-time low of 61.888.

Sectors were mixed, with those in the red with the slight advantage. Mining and oil posted the highest jump at 1.91 percent, while financials lost the most at 1.78 percent.

Trading was robust as total turn over value ballooned to P18.81 billion. Market breadth remained nega tive as decliners crushed advanc ers, 120 to 88, while 49 issues were unchanged.

Ayala Land was the session’s top traded stock, advancing by 0.26 percent to P15.54 per share. It was followed by ICTSI, which improved by 0.45 percent to P885, and BDO Unibank, which plunged by 3.01 percent to P116.