Manila: Profit-taking ruled the local bourse Thursday, putting a stop to the main index's two-day rise and affecting the local currency, which depreciated against the US dollar. The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) shed 0.68 percent to 6,057.40 points, while the All Shares index dropped by 0.48 percent to 3,667.01 points.

According to Philippines News Agency, half of the sectoral gauges tracked the main index, with Financials down 1.66 percent, Services falling 1.05 percent, and Holding Firms decreasing by 0.59 percent. However, Mining and Oil rose by 2.80 percent, Property by 0.12 percent, and Industrial by 0.11 percent.

Trading volume reached 5.35 billion shares, amounting to PHP6.51 billion. Decliners outnumbered advancers at 135 to 72, while 55 shares remained unchanged. 'The PSEi ended its two-day winning streak as profit-taking weighed on the market early in the session,' said Luis Limlingan, Regina Capital Development Corp. head of sales.

Limlingan also noted that the 25 basis points reduction in the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' (BSP) key rates, to 4.75 percent for the target reverse repurchase rate (RRP), on Thursday was unexpected. '(This) could serve as a key catalyst to boost market sentiment moving forward,' he said.

These developments were also felt in the foreign exchange trading, with the peso depreciating to 58.23 against the US dollar after improving to 57.95 on Wednesday. The peso opened stronger at 57.87 and traded between 58.32 and 57.79, averaging 57.95 for the day. Trading volume in the foreign exchange market declined to USD1.92 billion from the previous day's USD2.03 billion.