PSEi recovers; peso ends with gains

MANILA  - - The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) recovered Thursday after ending its two-day surged a day ago

The main stocks gauge gained 0.89 percent, or 78.94 points, 8,999.17 points, which  a trader pointed to correction.

Profit-taking caused the main index to lose steam a day ago but the trader said investors’ risk appetite returned Thursday boosting the PSEi anew.

The broader All Shares followed after it rose by 0.76 percent, or 39.56 points, to 5,245.25 points.

All the other indices also ended with gains with Mining and Oil posting the highest growth at four percent and tracked by the Holding Firms, 1.33 percent; Services, 1.24 percent; Industrial, 0.96 percent; Property, 0.36 percent; and Financials, 0.06 percent.

Volume for the day reached 1.32 billion shares amounting to PHP8.9 billion.

Gainers led losers at 116 to 105 while 41 shares were unchanged.

In another development, the Philippine peso finished the day’s trade PHP0.15 better to a US dollar at 50.81 from the previous session’s 50.96 close.

A trader said the local unit was just recovering after days of weakness as investors’ demand for the greenback waned partly because corporates met their mid-month demand.

For the day, the local unit opened in high notes at 50.86 from the previous session’s 51.05 start.

It traded between 50.91 and 50.72 resulting to an average of 50.81.

Volume for the day shoot up to USD1.05 billion from USD791.45 million a day ago.

The peso is seen to trade between 50.80 and 51.00 to the US dollar Friday. (PNA)