MANILA – Bargain hunting sustained the local bourse’s rise on Tuesday and this benefited the local currency.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) inched up by 2.65 percent, or 158.31 points, to 6,128.64 points.
All Shares trailed with a jump of 1.72 percent, or 54.88 points, to 3,253.51 points.
All the other counters also gained during the day, led by the Property after it rose by 4.20 percent, followed by the Financials, 2.78 percent; Holding Firms and Services, both up by 2.23 percent; Mining and Oil, 0.96 percent; and Industrial, 0.70 percent.
Volume was thin at 351.7 million shares amounting to PHP4.82 billion.
Advancers led decliners at 109 to 73 while 52 shares were unchanged.
“Philippine shares rebounded above the 6,000 mark as investors turned bargain hunters and picked up badly beaten index names across the board,” said Luis Limlingan, Regina Capital Development Corp. (RCDC) head of sales.
Limlingan said improvement in US equities due to positive earnings reports of listed firms also helped investors’ sentiments in the local equities market.
Relatively, he said, oil futures were steady “as China’s continuation of loose monetary policy was partly offset by fears that high inflation and energy costs could drag the global economy into recession.”
Similarly, upbeat sentiments in the local equities market helped buoy the peso, which closed at 58.75 to the US dollar, an appreciation compared to its 59.00 finish the previous day.
It opened the day at 58.90 and traded between 58.995 and 58.75, averaging 58.93.
Volume reached USD610.8 million, higher than the previous day’s USD524.9 million.
Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) chief economist Michael Ricafort said the peso’s close during the day was due partly to the gains in the local bourse, particularly the rise for the sixth consecutive day of the main index.
He also cited the net foreign buying in the local equities market, amounting to USD12.8 million, a reversal from the -USD0.6 million the previous day.
Citing the growth of remittances sent by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in August, which grew by 4.4 percent year-on-year, along with the influx of foreign tourists also helped the local currency, Ricafort forecast the peso to trade between 58.60 and 58.90 against the greenback on Wednesday. (PNA)
