MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) index declined for the fifth straight session yesterday, dragged down by the weakness in the banking sector.
The PSEi retreated 0.6 percent or 40.11 points to settle at 6,654.60, completing a week-long drop as institutional investors resort to profit taking due to the absence of positive news.
The broader all shares index fell 0.33 percent or 13.80 points to 4,169.50.
The local market again bucked the trend in Wall Street that was carried by data on a labor market recovery.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.58 percent or 83.86 points to another record high at 14,539.14, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index gained or 0.56 percent or 8.71 points to 1,563.23.
Locally, most counters were in the red, led by financial firms that sank 2.12 percent or 37.72 points to 1,744.69.
BDO Unibank Inc. (-3.3 percent), Metropolitan bank & Trust Co. (-2.38 percent) and Bank of the Philippine Islands (-3.26 percent) led the decline, weighed down by profit taking.
Holding firms added 0.65 percent or 38.06 points to 5,932.74.
A total of P12.38 billion worth of shares changed hands, up from P10.78 billion on Thursday. Still, decliners outpaced advancers, 102 to 57, while 51 stocks did not change.