Manila: Investors took profits Tuesday after a four-day bargain hunting, resulting in the negative close of the local bourse's main index, but the Philippine peso managed to keep its footing against the greenback. The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) went down 0.75 percent to 5,976.17 points, but the broader All Shares rose 1.12 percent to 3,574.82 points.

According to Philippines News Agency, it was a mix among the sectoral gauges, but most went down, namely Property, 2.54 percent; Industrial, 1.71 percent; Services, 0.42 percent; and Holding Firms, 0.17 percent. Mining and Oil and Financials, on the other hand, rose by 5.70 percent and 0.47 percent, respectively. Volume reached 1.17 billion shares, amounting to PHP9.5 billion. Decliners led advancers at 93 to 89 while 66 shares were unchanged.

'Today's sideways movement ended in the negative territory as investors took profits from the local market's preceding four-day rally,' Philstocks Financial, Inc. said in a report after the trading. On the other hand, the peso finished the trade sideways at 58.91 from day-ago's 58.87. It opened the day at 58.93, weaker than its 58.83 start in the previous session. It traded between 58.93 and 58.84, bringing the day's average to 58.89. Volume reached USD1.17 billion, little changed from day-ago's level.