MANILA, Philippines — Share prices snapped a five-day rally as investors took profits from the market’s recent gains, hours before a Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas meeting that kept interest rates steady.
The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index or PSEi closed at 6,9991.01, down 91.14 points or 1.28 percent.
Likewise, the broader All Shares index slipped 37.85 points or 0.88 percent to finish at 4,222.96, down 37.85 points or 0.88 percent.
Total value turnover reached P15.090 billion. Market breadth was negative, 131 to 95, while 44 issues were unchanged.
Foreign funds turned net sellers anew, buying P2.4 billion worth of stocks while selling P2.59 billion.
AB Capital Securities said the PSEi plunged back below the 7,000 level ahead of the rate setting meeting wherein monetary authorities kept interest rates steady despite rising inflation.
Inflation for January hit 4.2 percent year-on-year, breaching the central bank’s two to four percent target range.
Around Asia, major stock indexes were mostly higher yesterday after US President Joe Biden held his first conversation with Chinese leader Xi Jinping since taking office.
In their phone conversation, Biden and Xi appeared to have struck a conciliatory tone, Jeffrey Halley of Oanda said in a commentary.
US officials have signaled Washington will keep in place export restrictions on technology and tariffs imposed by the previous administration of President Donald Trump.
But investors and businesses in the region are hoping a more even-keeled approach to relations between the two biggest economies by the Biden administration might help minimize future shocks to trade and investment.