Manila: The wait-and-see stance vis- -vis the implementation of the 19 percent tariff on Philippine exports to the US starting Friday resulted in a further drop in the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) and the peso Thursday. The main equities index shed 1.04 percent to 6,252.73 points, and the broader All Shares by 1.05 percent to 3,736.91 points.

According to Philippines News Agency, all the sectoral indices also ended in the red, led by the Mining and Oil after it fell 3.01 percent. Trailing behind were Holding Firms, down by 1.61 percent; Financials, 1.49 percent; Industrial, 1.32 percent; Services, 1.23 percent; and Property, 0.94 percent. Volume reached 902.65 million, amounting to PHP7.85 billion. Decliners again surpassed advancers at 134 to 61 while 56 shares were unchanged.

Luis Limlingan, Regina Capital Development Corp. head of sales, said, 'Investors are already cautious in their positions about the potential impact and how it might affect stock market movements ahead of tomorrow's tariff deadline.' "Moreover, days of continuous depreciation of PHP (Philippine peso) against USD (US dollar) take a toll on the overall market sentiment,' he said, citing also the mixed results on Wall Street on Wednesday.

The local currency also ended the day at its almost six-month low of 58.32, or since Feb. 4, which Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) chief economist Michael Ricafort traced to tariff issues, the decline of the PSEi, a more cautious stance by the Federal Reserve as it kept anew its key rates after a two-day meeting ending July 30, and the improvement in exports. The local currency opened the day weaker at 57.86 from its 57.2 start in the previous session. It traded between 57.85 and 58.4, resulting in an average of 58.18. Volume surged to USD2.6 billion from the previous day's USD1.86 billion. Ricafort forecast the currency to trade between 58.20 and 58.45 on Friday.