Share prices succumbed to profit-taking for the fourth consecutive session following the weakness in major bourses as lower local corporate earnings and the BSP rate hike weighed on investor sentiment.

At the Philippine Stock Exchange, the composite index fell 29.61 points, or 0.7 percent to 4,219.07, while the broader all-shares index lost 9.59 points, or 0.32 percent to 2,959.21. Losers beat gainers, 89 to 40, while 40 stocks were unchanged. A total of 7.22 billion stocks worth P6.71 billion changed hands.

“Stocks closed lower because of the weak regional sentiments despite oil prices going to $100 a barrel and not-so-good earnings of companies like Aboitiz,” said Astro del Castillo, managing director of First Grade Holdings.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 139.41 points, or 1.10 percent to 12,584.17 after jobless benefits surprisingly rose last week to its highest level since August, lowering expectations for the US government’s April employment report due Friday.

Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. reported a decline in profits, dragged mainly by the lower electricity prices and sales of its power unit, a major contributor to its earnings. Also dampening investor sentiment was the move of the BSP to raise borrowing costs by 25 basis points after inflation rose to a one-year high in April.