THE peso rose anew but the stock market ended lower on Thursday, the former strengthening by 16 centavos to P56.115 against the dollar and the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) shedding 23.43 points, or 0.35 percent, to 6,623.01.

The broader All Shares index also declined, by 0.38 percent or 13.46 points, to 3,486.03.

The currency, which opened at P56.25:$1 and traded from P56.06 to P56.35, saw volume reach P1.7778 billion, up from the previous day's P1.184 billion.

Lower crude prices and US Treasury yields were factors in the peso rise, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael Ricafort said.

Regina Capital Development Corp. Managing Director Luis Limlingan and Philstocks Financial Inc. researcher Mikhail Plopenio, meanwhile, said the PSEi edged lower as the US Federal Reserve indicated that rate cuts were unlikely to be announced next month.

Plopenio said the PSEi dropped due to negative spillovers from Wall Street overnight as "the Federal Reserve downplayed rate cut hopes for March."

"With the current path of inflation in the US, [Fed chief Jerome Powell] stated that the committee is not yet confident [enough] to cut rates in their next meeting," he added.

Limlingan said this dampened investor expectations of an earlier-than-expected policy easing, causing Philippine equities to "tumble."

Market participation remained weak, leading to a net value turnover of P3.64 billion — lower than the year-to-date average of P4.45 billion.

Except for financials, which increased by 0.29 percent, all sector indices ended in the red. Mining and oil was the biggest loser, shedding 1.46 percent.

Decliners outnumbered advancers, 118 to 46, while 55 were unchanged.

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