Philippine stocks dip amid inflation worries and profit-taking

Philippine stocks declined by 1.20 percent to close at 6,545.38 points, ending a three-day rally.

The market's retreat was influenced by profit-taking and the release of the December inflation rate, which rose to 2.9 percent from 2.5 percent in November.

This inflation figure was within the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' (BSP) forecast range but leaned towards the higher end.

Headline inflation in December marked the third consecutive month of faster inflation and was higher than the 2.7% median estimate.

The Services sector was the primary driver of the decline, while the Mining and Oil sector saw gains.

A total of 1.51 billion shares worth P4.51 billion changed hands as foreigners opted to shed their shares, with foreign outflows totaling P894.32 million.

This brought the average inflation for 2024 to 3.2 percent, marking the first time since 2020 that the full-year price growth settled within the central bank's 2 to 4 percent target range.

Luis Limlingan, head of sales at stock brokerage house Regina Capital Development Corp., noted that aside from inflation, profit-taking also pulled the PSEi below 6,600.