UP. Assurance by the US government for support to depositors of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) partly lifted investors sentiments and allowed both the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) and the peso to end the week with gains. Report about the Philippine government's budget surplus for January 2023 also boosted the peso. (PNA file photo)
MANILA – The local bourse’s main index rebounded on Friday after investors noted efforts to address the collapse of two US-based financial institution and the financial issues of Credit Suisse and this also benefited the peso.
After a negative close on Thursday, the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) rose by 1.01 percent, or 64.81 points, to 6,469.72 points.
All Shares followed with a jump of 0.59 percent, or 20.45 points, to 3,464.27 points.
All the sectoral indices also gained during the day, led by the Financials after it rose by 1.75 percent.
It was trailed by the Holding Firms, 1.66 percent; Mining and Oil, 0.73 percent; Services, 0.38 percent; Property, 0.18 percent; and Industrial, 0.04 percent.
Volume reached 987.42 million shares amounting to PHP8.3 billion.
Advancers led decliners at 102 to 79 while 57 shares were unchanged.
“Philippine shares traded in the green after a group of banks said it would aid First Republic with USD30 billion in deposits as a sign of confidence in the banking system. The major indices were also buoyed by an announcement form Credit Suisse that it will borrow up to USD50 billion francs from the Swiss National Bank,” Luis Limlingan, Regina Capital Development Corporation (RCDC) head of sales, said.
Relatively, the local currency gained against the US dollar after closing the day at 54.71 from the previous day’s 54.86.
It opened the trade at 54.75, an improvement from the previous session’s 55.01.
It traded between 54.75 and 54.61, resulting to an average of 54.678.
Volume rose to USD880 million from the previous day’s USD799 million.
Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) chief economist Michael Ricafort traced the peso’s improvement partly to the government’s report about the fiscal surplus January this year, the biggest in four years, and the narrower deficit projection for the country’s balance of payment (BOP) position this year.
The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) on Friday reported a budget surplus of PHP45.7 billion in January 2023.
Also, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported a lower projection for the country’s BOP deficit this year at USD1.6 billion from USD5.4 billion in the last quarter of 2022.
Ricafort said assurance by the US government of support to depositors of Silicon Valley Bank (SBV) and local authorities assurance that domestic banks are unaffected by the collapse of two US banks also lifted investors’ sentiments.
For next week, the local currency is projected to trade between 54.45-54.95 while the forecast range for Monday is between 54.60-54.80. (PNA)
