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MANILA – Both the local stock market and currency ended Tuesday with gains.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) closed Tuesday’s trading with an increment of 6.26 points to 6,514.47.
All shares also improved by 5.11 points to 3,472.53.
Half of the counters ended in the green while the rest were in the negative territory.
Leading this day’s gainers was Industrial, which shares increased by 61.59 points to 9,214.82. This was followed by Holding Firms, with shares up by 34.10 points to 6,473.25, and Services, higher by 10.02 points to 1,571.97.
On the other hand, biggest loser during the day was Financials, down by 19.99 points to 1,836.13, followed by Property which declined by 4.36 points to 2,650.21, and Mining and Oil, 2.77 points to 9,966.39.
Regina Capital Development Corp. head of sales Luis Limlingan said Philippine equities were buoyed by the public’ enthusiasm towards artificial intelligence.
Other factors impacting the day’s trading include the worse-than-expected manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) in the United States, while investors remained vigilant ahead of the June inflation back home.
Meanwhile, Philippine peso ended at 55.23 against a United States dollar, which gained by 0.09 from Monday’s closing at 55.32.
The local currency kicked off stronger at 55.20 against previous day’s opening at 55.25.
The currency pair traded from a low of 55.20 to a high of 55.30, bringing this day’s average level to 55.25 to a dollar.
Michael Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation, said the US dollar also eased against major global currencies recently.
“The markets (are) also anticipating some seasonal increase in OFW (overseas Filipino workers) remittances and conversion to pesos to prepare for some tuition payments and other related expenses for the opening of the new school season somewhere around July-August 2023,” he said.
Ricafort said it was observed that the peso strengthened “for nearly all days since last week” following the announcement of the new central bank chief.
Meanwhile, Malacañang named Eli Remolana as the new Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor, taking over the responsibilities from former BSP Governor Felipe Medalla starting July 3.
“This is a welcome development for the markets and the economy given his international experience/track record/reputation on central banking in developed countries. [It] would infuse a more international perspective on central banking, as well as adoption of more global best practices on central banking, in terms of fulfilling price stability, financial stability, and regulatory mandates, all of which would help sustain the country’s long-term economic growth and development,” Ricafort added.
Volume of trade reached USD801.82 million, lower than previous day’s level of USD1.26 billion.
For Wednesday, Ricafort sees the peso-dollar exchange rate ranging between 55.15 and 55.35. (PNA)
