FLAT. The local bourse's main index ended Monday (July 10, 2023) almost unchanged as investors await the release of US' June 2023 inflation report. The peso also ended the day sideways against the US dollar partly on reports of lower foreign reserves for the Philippines last June and the year-on-year decline in net foreign direct investments for April 2023. (PNA graphics)
MANILA -- The local bourse’s main index ended flat on Monday ahead of the release of US’ June 2023 inflation rate while the peso finished sideways against the US dollar.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) rose by 0.01 percent, or 0.69 points, to 6,379.72 points.
On the other hand, All Shares went down by 0.10 percent, or 3.28 points, to 3,419.00 points.
Half of the sectoral gauges gained during the day namely Financials, 0.50 percent; Property, 0.32 percent; and Services, 0.22 percent.
Holding Firms slipped by 0.47 percent, Mining and Oil by 0.45 percent, and Industrial by 0.21 percent.
Volume reached 332.82 million shares amounting to PHP2.82 billion.
Decliners led advancers at 108 to 72 while 48 shares were unchanged.
“The local bourse opened the week flat as investors stayed on the sidelines ahead of a slew of economic data releases stateside and here at home,” said Luis Limlingan, Regina Capital Development Corporation (RCDC) head of sales.
He said the major economic data that investors are waiting for this week is the US’ consumer price index (CPI) report for June 2023, which will be released on July 12, and the Philippines’ May 2023 trade balance and remittances growth on July 14.
Oil prices rose to a nine-week high at the end of last week “as supply concerns and technical buying outweighed fears that further interest rate hikes could slow economic growth and reduce demand for oil.”
Meanwhile, the peso ended sideways against the US dollar at 55.69 from its 55.62 close at the end of last week.
It opened the day at a better level at 55.55 from the previous session’s 55.65.
It traded between 55.53 and 55.72, resulting in an average of 55.617.
Volume went down to USD748.65 million from USD1.009 billion last Friday.
Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) chief economist Michael Ricafort said the local currency corrected higher against the greenback and closed to its new two-week high due in part to the drop in the country’s gross international reserves (GIR) to its four-month low as of end-June 2023 at USD99.8 billion.
He said the year-on-year decline in the country’s net foreign direct investments (FDI) last April to USD876 million also factored in during the day’s foreign exchange trading. The net FDI last April is higher than the previous month’s USD548 million.
Ricafort said hawkish signal from Federal Reserve also contributed to investors’ sentiments, with expectations for rate hike up for this month.
For Tuesday, the currency pair is expected to trade between 55.60 and 55.80. (PNA)
