MANILA – The sustained rise of US bond yields continued to hurt the local stock barometer on Thursday, but the peso took a breather against the US dollar.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) shed 0.31 percent, or 22.26 points, to 7,239.28 points.
All Shares moved sideways after it rose by 0.02 percent, or 0.59 points, to 3,855.84 points.
Half of the sectoral counters tracked the main index, with Property declining by 1.72 percent; Services, 0.68 percent; and Holding Firms, 0.12 percent.
On the other hand, Mining and Oil rose by 3.25 percent, Financials by 0.97 percent, and Industrial by 0.30 percent.
Volume reached 2.57 billion shares amounting to PHP6.15 billion.
“Philippine shares extended their losses, weighed down by sustained sharply higher bond yields and elevated inflation,” said Luis Limlingan, Regina Capital Development Corporation (RCDC) head of sales.
Limlingan said the jump in global oil prices for the fourth consecutive day to their seven-year high due to "an outage on a pipeline from Iraq to Turkey increased concerns about an already tight supply outlook amid worrisome geopolitical troubles in Russia and the UAE (United Arab Emirates).”
Futures of Brent crude rose by 1.06 percent to USD88.44 per barrel and the West Texas Intermediate by 1.8 percent to USD86.96 per barrel.
Meanwhile, the local currency appreciated against the greenback after finishing the trade at 51.34 from its 51.5 close on Wednesday.
It opened the trade at 51.45, little changed from its 51.47 start the previous day.
It strengthened to 51.34 during the day but also touched 51.485 mid-trade. This resulted in an average of 51.428 for the day.
Volume totaled USD858.95 million, higher than the previous session’s USD754.2 million. (PNA)
