The Philippine Stock Exchange index plunged by more than 2 percent Tuesday to close below the 6,200 level, ahead of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) Monetary Board meeting later this week.
The 30-company benchmark lost 136.34 points, or 2.17 percent, to close at 6,145.24, while the broader all-shares index dropped 53.03 points, or 1.42 percent, to settle at 3,684.55.
Asian shares also fell Tuesday, taking their cure from Wall Street’s decline.
“The market saw a decline today as most stocks were weighed down by heavy selling pressure,” Reginal Capital Development Corp. head of sales Luis Limlingan said.
The peso also depreciated to 57.07 against the US dollar Tuesday.
“Investors are positioning ahead of the BSP’s policy rate decision this week with all eyes on how the stock market will react once the central bank’s move in confirmed,” said Limlingan.
Only the mining and oil index ended in the green, rising by 1.05 percent. Services declined by 5.47 percent, as share price of International Container Terminal Services Inc. went down by 4.47 percent to P453.20.
The financial sector dropped 3.03 percent as major banks registered declines. Shares of BDO Unibank Inc. decreased by nearly 8 percent to P131.20.
The share price of Ayala Land Inc. jumped 5.2 percent to P28.50.
