Peso rebound helps PH stocks end losing streak

The recovery of the local peso against the United States dollar on Thursday helped lift the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi).

The currency gained four centavos against the greenback to close at 62.52 from Wednesday’s record-low finish of 62.56.

Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation chief economist Michael Ricafort attributed the recovery partly to the appreciation of the Japanese yen against the dollar.

The peso opened Thursday's session at 62.51 — weaker than the previous day's 62.40 start — and traded between 62.38 and 62.56, bringing the daily average to 62.49.

Trading volume dropped to USD1.55 billion from the USD1.83 billion recorded in the previous session.

Ricafort said the currency corrected against the dollar as the yen strengthened and global crude oil prices fell to around USD 94 per barrel from USD95 on Wednesday.

For Friday, he forecasts the peso to trade between the 62.40 and 62.60 levels against the U.S. dollar.

Boosted by the peso's recovery, the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) snapped its multi-day losing streak, rising 0.27 percent. The broader All Shares index also gained 0.51 percent to close at 3,369.81.

Most sectoral counters ended in positive territory, led by the Mining and Oil index, which surged 5.61 percent. It was followed by Property (up 0.77 percent), Industrial (up 0.75 percent), Holding Firms (up 0.43 percent), and Financials (up 0.14 percent).

Only the Services sector bucked the trend, slipping 0.12 percent.

Market turnover reached 1.15 billion shares valued at PHP5.24 billion.

Advancers outnumbered decliners,119 to 85, while 50 issues remained unchanged.

-Joann Villanueva/Philippine News Agency