The Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi), the country’s main stock barometer, fell below the 6,000 level Friday as business and consumer confidence declined amid corruption concerns.
The 30-company PSEi ended the week at 5,920.87, down 110.61 points, or 1.83 percent, despite improving global risk sentiment. The broader all shares index closed at 3,397.72, down 49.24 points, or 1.43 percent.
The peso depreciated to 58.7 to the U.S. dollar on Friday from 58.555 on Thursday.
Analysts said the market was dragged down by a selloff across all major indices. Services led the decline, plunging 3.26 percent, followed by financials at 1.76 percent and mining and oil at 1.36 percent.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas reported that business confidence dropped to 23.7 percent in the latest survey, down from 49.5 percent in the previous period, due to corruption issues. Consumer confidence also turned negative because of inflation concerns.
Investors ignored a rally on Wall Street, which rose after a mixed inflation report raised expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts.
Trading was active, with value turnover reaching P7.38 billion. Decliners outnumbered gainers 110 to 65, while 75 stocks remained unchanged. Foreign investors were net sellers for the day, with outflows totaling P103.38 million.
DigiPlus Interactive Corp. was the day’s top index gainer, jumping 7.89 percent to P16.40. International Container Terminal Services Inc. was the main index laggard, falling 4.6 percent to P549.50.
