Profit-taking puts PSEi, peso down on week’s first trading day

Profit-taking continues to reign over the Philippines equities market and affected anew the local currency. (Shutterstock)

MANILA — Profit-taking continues to reign over the Philippines equities market and affected anew the local currency.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) shed 0.73 percent, or 59.57 points, to 8,084.45 points, which a trader partly attributed to news of higher taxes on coal, based on the Philippine Senate’s version of the proposed tax reform.

Most stock indices finished Monday on the red, with the broader All Shares down by 0.57 percent, or 27.21 points, to 4,758.65 points.

The Services sector led the decline, as it went down 1.31 percent. This was followed by Financials, 0.77 percent; Mining and Oil, 0.75 percent; Holding Firms, 0.69 percent; and Property, 0.60 percent.

Only the Industrial sector was able to gain during the day after it rose by 0.04 percent.

Volume for the day reached slightly over a billion shares, amounting to PHP7.55 billion.

Losers led gainers at 119 to 68, while 55 shares were unchanged.

The peso also lost PHP0.295 vis-a-vis the greenback, after ending the day’s trade at 50.665 from 50.37 at the closing of last Friday’s trading.

A trader said the rise in US Treasury yields helped sustain the greenback’s strength, as investors cheer the latest news on the positive path of the proposed tax reform in the US.

The peso showed weakness early on after opening the week at 50.40 from 50.33 in the previous session.

It failed to strengthen during the day and even fell to 50.67, bringing the day’s average to 50.557.

Volume for the day amounted to USD723.4 million, higher than the USD444.70 million at the end of last week.