Manila: The Philippine peso ended Friday trading sideways against the US dollar, maintaining its closing rate at 58.24 from the previous day's 58.23. Despite this stability, the general weakness of the peso has been identified as a contributing factor to the decline of the local stock market's main index this week.

According to Philippines News Agency, the peso began the day weaker at 58.4 compared to its opening of 57.87 the previous day. It showed some strength, reaching as high as 58.16, but also dipped to 58.43, resulting in a daily average of 58.26. The trading volume decreased significantly to USD1.41 billion from USD1.92 billion in the previous session.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) fell for the second consecutive day, dropping by 0.32 percent to 6,037.79 points. The All Shares index also declined by 0.23 percent to 3,658.44 points. Most sectoral indices finished the week in the red, with the Mining and Oil sector experiencing the most significant decrease of 2.92 percent. Holding Firms decreased by 0.78 percent, Property by 0.56 percent, Financials by 0.43 percent, and Services by 0.05 percent. In contrast, the Industrial index saw a modest gain, rising by 0.26 percent.

The trading volume for the day reached 1.51 billion, amounting to PHP6.34 billion. Decliners outnumbered advancers with 97 to 79, while 65 shares remained unchanged. Luis Limlingan, head of sales at Regina Capital Development Corporation, remarked, "The PSEi continued its decline today despite the recent rate cut from the BSP (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas)," referring to the 25-basis point reduction in the central bank's key rates on Thursday. He further noted that "the depreciation of the peso against the US dollar likely dampened investor sentiment and contributed to the cautious outlook of market participants, leading to subdued trading activity overall."