Stocks lost ground on Friday, the last trading day of October as investors wait for third quarter corporate earnings.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index lost 40.34 points to end at 7,404.80. All counters declined except holding firms, which went up by 0.1 percent. For the month, the index lost 272.93 points or 3.6 percent.

The peso closed at 48.25 against the US dollar from 48.40. The peso was slightly stronger than the 48.30 against the US dollar at the start of October.

For October, the peso averaged 48.348 from 47.429 in September, the central bank said. DMS