HEALTHY CORRECTION. Both the main equities index and the peso end Wednesday (June 29, 2022) down after a recent rally. An economist traced this to a healthy correction as the US dollar strengthens. (PNA file photo)
MANILA – Both the main equities index and the peso weakened on Wednesday, with the local currency dipping to 55-level due to the correction in the local bourse.
After a three-day rally, the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) lost 0.67 percent, or 42.22 points, to 6,303.19 points.
All Shares trailed with a decline of 0.34 percent, or 11.56 points, to 3,389.12 points.
Half of the sectoral indices gained, namely Mining and Oil, 0.89 percent; Services, 0.26 percent; and Industrial, 0.06 percent.
Those that decline are Property, 2.14 percent; Financials, 0.65 percent; and Holding Firms, 0.40 percent.
Volume reached 532.42 million shares amounting to PHP4.91 billion.
Decliners led advancers at 98 to 97, while 45 shares were unchanged.
Meanwhile, the peso weakened to 55.06 against the US dollar from its 54.77 finish on Tuesday.
It opened the day at 54.9 and traded between 55.1 and 54.88.
The average level for the day stood at 55.021.
Volume reached USD1.28 billion, down from USD1.65 billion a day ago.
Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) chief economist Michael Ricafort traced the peso’s depreciation “partly due to the healthy downward correction in the PSEi today.”
“The latest currency movements also came after the US dollar corrected higher vs. major global currencies after continued hawkish signals from some Fed (Federal Reserve ) officials (New York Fed President John Williams and San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly) but also signaled that a soft landing remains possible, softer US consumer confidence data, as well as the upward correction in global oil prices to 1-week highs,” he said.
Despite the rise in the prices of oil in the international market, Ricafort said the latest figures remain among its one-month lows.
He also cited the drop of the benchmark 10-year US Treasury rate to below 3.20 percent. (PNA)
