MANILA – Expectations of further acceleration in the October domestic inflation rate triggered risk aversion in the local bourse on Tuesday, dragging the main index into negative territory, but the local currency strengthened against the US dollar.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) lost 0.99 percent to 5,624.17 points, while the broader All Shares index shed 0.58 percent to 3,159.84 points.
Only the Holding Firms sector gained among the sectoral gauges, rising by 0.22 percent.
Services posted the steepest decline at 2.71 percent, followed by the Mining and Oil counter at 1.51 percent. The Industrial index fell by 0.87 percent, Property dropped 0.30 percent, and Financials edged down by 0.02 percent.
Trading volume reached 699.17 million shares worth PHP5.27 billion.
Decliners outnumbered advancers, 106 to 79, while 72 issues remained unchanged.
In a market report, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) chief economist Michael Ricafort identified investors’ wait-and-see stance ahead of the October inflation report as a key driver of the day’s equities trading.
Ricafort said the market anticipates a faster rate of price increases compared to the 7.2 percent recorded in September.
He cited the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) inflation forecast range of 7.1 percent to 8.1 percent.
The higher inflation rate is expected to impact interest rates as well, he added.
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) is scheduled to release the October 2026 inflation report on Thursday.
Despite the downbeat performance of the local bourse, the peso appreciated, closing at 63.47 against the US dollar from its 63.74 finish on Friday.
The local currency opened the session at 63.50 and traded between 63.44 and 63.55, bringing the day’s average to 63.49.
Volume reached USD1.04 billion, down from the USD1.28 billion recorded in the previous session.
Ricafort expects the peso to trade between 63.40 and 63.60 against the US dollar on Wednesday. (PNA)
