MANILA – Local shares closed strong ahead of the release of inflation data while the peso ended the day sideways.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) finished the day 13.83 points higher to 6,259.01, with All Shares also ending in the green territory at the 3,337.25 level, up by 5.03 points.
Except for Financials, which slipped by 1.42 points, all sectoral indices closed the day stronger on Monday.
Highest gains came from Mining and Oil, which shares increased by 132.65 points to 9,766.16. This is followed by Industrial, up by 34.86 points to 8,781.13; Holding Firms, up by 23.79 points to 5,941.99; Services, up by 4.05 points to 1,524.26; and Property, up by 1.27 points to 2,747.12.
Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael Ricafort said PSEI’s closing was among the best performances in 1.5 months or since Oct. 18, 2023.
“The PSEi also gained after US stock markets continued to gain for the fourth consecutive day by 0.5 to 0.8 percent, mostly among four-month highs and also mostly among 20-month highs,” Ricafort added.
Despite the overall improvement in the local bourse, 81 index members shed their shares while 72 were gainers, leaving 33 counters unchanged.
Meanwhile, the Philippine peso closed sideways, slightly gaining 0.06 on Monday. It improved to 55.34 a US dollar from 55.40 closing last Friday.
The currency pair opened the day at 55.34 before trading between 55.22 and 55.37, bringing the average level at 55.32 to the greenback.
The volume of trade slightly decreased to USD1.12 billion from USD1.18 billion last week. (PNA)
