Local shares started the week in the red as the main index plummeted by more than 100 points Monday ahead of the release of September inflation rate.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) lost 108.54 points, or 1.78 percent, to close at 6,000.32. The broader all-shares index dropped 41.90 points, or 1.14 percent, to 3,643.95.
The peso plunged to 58.35 to the U.S. dollar on Monday from 57.875 on Friday.
The market declined even as Asian stocks rose for a sixth consecutive day.
Regina Capital Development Corp. head of sales Luis Limlingan said investors turned cautious ahead of the inflation rate release on Tuesday, which could influence the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) next policy move.
Limlingan added that profit-taking also influenced Monday’s trading session as investors cashed in after the index rose for three consecutive trading days.
Only the mining and oil index managed to close in positive territory, increasing by 2.61 percent. The holding firms index declined the most, dropping by 2.02 percent, while the financial index went down by 1.96 percent.
Value turnover was lethargic at P4.91 billion.
The market closed with 139 decliners versus 64 gainers, while 58 stocks remained unchanged.
Only two index stocks managed to close higher Monday. Shares of China Banking Corp. climbed 0.80 percent to P62.75, while ACEN Corp. was up 0.41 percent to P2.47. On the other hand, Monde Nissin Corp. was the worst performer, declining 4.29 percent to P6.70.
