Manila: Profit-taking ruled the local bourse on Tuesday after several days of bargain-hunting, resulting in its negative close, and the Philippine peso again weakened against the US dollar. After several days of rally, the PSEi shed 1.28 percent to 6,333.80 points, and the broader All Shares by 0.32 percent to 3,439.58 points. Most of the sectoral indices also finished the day in the red, led by Services, which dipped 2.50 percent. Trailing behind were Financials, 1.10 percent; Holding Firms, 0.82 percent; and Property, 0.49 percent. On the other hand, Mining and Oil rose by 3.51 percent and Industrial, by 1.26 percent. Volume remained tepid at 702.8 million shares amounting to PHP7.94 billion. Decliners led advancers at 107 to 91, while 52 shares were unchanged.

According to Philippines News Agency, 'The local bourse ended lower as investors took profits after a four-day winning streak, with the benchmark index still looking for catalysts to stabilize above the 6,400 level,' said Luis Limlingan, Regina Capital Development Corp. head of sales. He explained that 'the pullback was viewed as a healthy correction as the market neared overbought territory.' 'Sentiment was also weighed down by the peso's depreciation against the US dollar and the threat of the sharp increase in local oil prices,' he added.

Relatively, the local currency depreciated anew against the greenback, ending the day at 61.74 from its 61.68 close a day ago. It opened the day sideways at 61.69 from the previous session's 61.65 and traded between 61.75 and 61.68, bringing the day's average to 61.71. Volume rose to USD752.5 million, up from the previous day's USD670.5 million.