MANILA -- The Philippine peso ended Wednesday almost unchanged against the greenback but the main stocks index sustained its slide in step with the trend on Wall Street.
The local currency finished the day’s trade at 52.31 from the previous session’s 52.32, which a trader said is due to the continued rise of US Treasury rates.
Some investors decided to stay on the sidelines given the foreign selling in the local equities market. Thus, for the day the peso opened the day at 52.24, an improvement from day-ago’s 52.355.
It ranged between 52.38 and 52.19, resulting in an average of 52.287. Volume totaled USD714.64 million, up from Tuesday’s USD620.21 million. The currency pair is seen to trade between 52.20 and 52.40 on Thursday.
On the other hand, the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) shed anew and ended the day at 7,557.91 points, down by 0.56 percent, or 42.25 points.
Another trader pointed out that this too was a reaction to the rise in US Treasury rates, as well as other developments on Wall Street. All the other counters mirrored the main gauge, with All Shares declining by 0.48 percent, 22.34 points, to 4,595.43 points.
Services registered the highest drop at 1.52 percent, followed by Industrial, 0.93 percent; Holding Firms, 0.69 percent; Mining and Oil, 0.49 percent; Financials, 0.28 percent; and Property, 0.005 percent. Volume totaled 1.7 billion shares amounting to PHP6.21 billion.
Losers led gainers at 125 to 61 while 49 shares were unchanged. (PNA)
