Manila: Risk aversion due partly to weakness of the peso again resulted in the negative close of the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) below the 6,000-level on Monday, and the local currency slid further against the US dollar. The main stocks index declined 0.91 percent to 5,933.76 points, and the broader All Shares by 0.73 percent to 3,581.73 points.

According to Philippines News Agency, all the sectoral indices also finished the day's trade in the red, with Mining and Oil posting the biggest drop at 2.87 percent. It was trailed by Services, 1.25 percent; Financials, 1.08 percent; Industrial, 0.79 percent; Property, 0.76 percent; and Holding Firms, 0.54 percent.

Volume reached 11.82 billion shares, amounting to PHP18.77 billion. Decliners surpassed advancers at 131 to 55, while 59 shares were unchanged. Philstocks Financial Inc., in a market report, traced the bearish sentiments in the local bourse to concerns about the corruption issues that the government intends to address, and the outlook on the domestic economy's expansion. 'The peso's further weakening against the US dollar also dragged the local bourse,' it said.

The local currency finished the trade at 58.9 against the greenback, further down from its 58.62 close last Friday. It opened the day sideways at 58.6, and traded between 58.5 and 58.92. The average for the day stood at 58.68. Volume rose to USD1.6 billion from the previous session's nearly USD1.4 billion.