Philippine Stocks, Peso Tumble on Soaring Oil Prices, Inflation Fears

MANILA, Philippines — The local stock market tumbled amid concerns over rising oil prices, compounded by the peso plunging to a fresh record low. The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index shed 0.61 percent or 37.42 points to close the week at 6,061.81. The broader All Shares index also declined by 0.74 percent or 24.91 points, settling at 3,358.40. Luis Limlingan of Regina Capital said the local bourse ended lower amid continued pressure from surging crude prices, with oil trading near $108 per barrel amid the US-Iran conflict. “Elevated oil prices raised concerns about inflation and macroeconomic indicators, weighing on overall market sentiment,” Limlingan said. “Meanwhile, the weaker local currency further encouraged investors to reduce risk exposure, keeping market pressure in place,” he said. The peso weakened to a fresh record low of 62.68 against the dollar yesterday as higher oil prices, rising global bond yields and concerns over a prolonged war dampened investor appetite for risk. The local currency shed 14.5 centavos from Thursday’s 62.535 finish, based on Bankers Association of the Philippines data. It also ended the week weaker than its previous record-low close of 62.625 on Sept. 8. All sectors were in the red, except for property, which inched up by 0.004 percent. Mining and oil recorded the biggest drop at 3.27 percent, followed by financials, which fell by 1.58 percent. Market breadth was negative as decliners squashed advancers, 144 to 51, while 54 issues were unchanged. Net of extraordinary block sales, total turnover stood at P5.83 billion. ICTSI was the session’s top traded stock, slipping by 0.20 percent to P985 per share, followed by BDO Unibank and First Gen, which plummeted by 2.54 percent and 11.90 percent, respectively, to P115.10 and P23.70.