Philippine stocks extended their decline Monday, with corruption issues continuing to affect investor sentiment.
The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) lost 54.26 points, or 0.91 percent, to close at 5,933.76. The broader all-shares index shed 26.38 points, or 0.73 percent, to finish at 3,581.73.
Analysts said investors were concerned that corruption issues would dampen foreign and local investments, potentially slowing the growth of the domestic economy.
“Bearish sentiment continues to dominate the local market due the Philippines’ corruption issues and its impact on the country’s economic outlook,” said Japhet Tantiangco, research head at Philstocks Financial Inc.
The weakening of the peso against the dollar and weak third-quarter earnings results also dragged the local bourse.
The peso closed at 58.90 per dollar on Monday, down from 58.625 on Friday.
All indices ended in the negative territory, led by mining and oil which dropped 2.87 percent, and services which went down by 1.25 percent.
Value turnover amounted to P4.67 billion. Foreign investors were still net sellers, with outflows totaling P313.66 million.
Puregold Price Club Inc. was the day’s top gainer, increasing by 2.7 percent to P38.80.
Century Pacific Food Inc. was the bottom performer, declining by 4.16 percent to P34.55.
