Philippine shares closed lower Thursday as investors took profits after two straight days of gains.
The 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange index fell 33.24 points, or 0.53 percent, to close at 6,291.85. The wider all-shares index declined 21.61 points, or 0.57 percent, to 3,743.03.
The peso also weakened against the U.S. dollar, closing at 56.945 Thursday from 56.72 Friday.
Philstocks Financial Inc. research head Japhet Tantiangco said investor sentiment turned negative on concerns over the country’s fiscal position after the government reported that outstanding debt is projected to hit 19.06 trillion pesos by the end of 2026.
Analysts said investors are closely watching the ongoing Senate hearing on online gaming.
Industrials led sectors, advancing 0.38 percent, followed by financials, which climbed 0.09 percent. Services declined the most, dropping 2.42 percent.
Value turnover was strong at P7.82 billion, higher than the year-to-date average of P5.92 billion.
Foreign investors remained net buyers, with inflows reaching P100.9 million.
Jollibee Food Corp. was the day’s top index gainer, as its share price rose 2.33 percent to P220 after the company reported strong second-quarter results.
Converge ICT Solutions Inc. was at the bottom, declining 7.46 percent to P14.88.
Asian markets were mixed Thursday, with Japan’s Nikkei down as bitcoin hit a new high and investors braced for talks between the US and Russian presidents in Alaska.
Bitcoin hit a new peak during early Asian trading, with the cryptocurrency briefly exceeding $124,500 before retreating, driven by favorable US legislation and a rise in US equities.
“The crypto market is enjoying a period of highly favorable fundamentals,” said Samer Hasn, senior market analyst at XS.com.
Hopes of a US interest rate cut after soft inflation data pushed Tokyo’s Nikkei to its second record close in as many days on Wednesday, but on Thursday the index closed down 1.45 percent.
Hong Kong and Taipei also fell while Seoul edged up. London, Frankfurt and Paris were all higher in early trade.
With US President Donald Trump calling on the US Federal Reserve to cut rates, his Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pressured the Bank of Japan governor to lift borrowing costs.
Despite inflation being above its target, the BoJ has been holding off raising borrowing costs, seeing price rises as caused by temporary factors and not by strong demand or wage growth.
“The Japanese have an inflation problem… They are behind the curve so they are going to be hiking,” Bessent told Bloomberg TV.
Investors were also eyeing talks on Friday between Trump and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on ending the more than three-year war in Ukraine. With AFP
