Manila, March 30 -- Prolonged tensions in the Middle East continued to weigh on investor sentiment, causing the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) to decline anew on Monday, while the peso also dropped to a new record low.

The PSEi moved to 5,869.49, down by 1.73 percent, while All Shares fell by 1.20 percent to 3,295.85.

Except for Services, all sectoral indices closed in the red, led by Mining and Oil, which dropped by 2.42 percent, followed by Holding Firms, which declined by 2.30 percent.

Volume of trade reached 746.28 million. Decliners led advancers at 126 to 74, while 60 shares were unchanged.

"The Philippine market opened the week lower as the Middle East war entered its fifth week. The conflict continued to escalate despi...