Manila: The Philippine peso weakened against the US dollar on Wednesday, and this, along with profit-taking, hit the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) during the day. The local currency finished the day's trade at 58.92, weaker than its 58.52 close on Tuesday. It opened the day sideways at 58.55, and ranged between 58.92 and 58.5. The average for the day stood at 58.75. Volume declined to USD1.41 billion from day-ago's USD1.49 billion.

According to Philippines News Agency, this negatively affected trading in the local bourse, with the main index ending the day 1.48 percent lower to 5,905.84 points, and the broader All Shares went down by 0.31 percent to 3,464.79 points. Most of the sectoral gauges finished on the red, led by the Services after it fell 2.61 percent. It was trailed by the Financials, 1.17 percent; Industrial, 1.04 percent; Holding Firms, 0.90 percent; and Property, 0.51 percent.

Only the Mining and Oil index gained during the day after it rose 0.34 percent. Volume reached 889.92 million shares, amounting to PHP6.87 billion. Decliners led advancers at 105 to 86 while 46 shares were unchanged. 'Market sentiment was subdued due to the depreciation of the Philippine peso against the US dollar. Overall trading remained cautious as investors awaited clearer market signals,' Luis Limlingan, Regina Capital Development Corporation head of sales, said.