PNA graphics
MANILA – The local bourse’s main index started the shortened week up despite the geopolitical issues overseas while the peso ended sideways against the United States dollar.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) gained 2.03 percent, or 129.54 points, to 6,523.09 points.
All the other counters also gained during the day, with All Shares up by 1.63 percent, or 55.71 points, to 3,470.46 points.
Industrial led the sectoral gauges after it rose by 2.47 percent and was trailed by Holding Firms, 2.40 percent; Property, 1.92 percent; Services, 1.33 percent; Mining and Oil, 1.25 percent; and Financials, 0.95 percent.
Volume reached 513.77 million shares amounting to PHP4.32 billion.
Advancers led decliners at 100 to 70 while 56 shares were unchanged.
Luis Limlingan, Regina Capital Development Corporation (RCDC) head of sales, said the PSEi gained after “investors bought across the board many undervalued names.”
He said investors await the release this week of several economic reports that include durable goods and Chicago purchasing managers index (PMI) in the US, as well as the speaking engagements of several Federal Reserve officials.
“Traders will probably keep an eye on Europe, where a brief military uprising by a private group occurred in Russia over the weekend,” he added. “The markets will probably remain volatile due to uncertainty on the situation there.”
On the local front, among the data to be released this week include the May 2023 national budget report and Producer Price Index (PPI).
Oil prices in the international market slipped “as traders worried interest rate hikes could sap demand despite signs of tighter supplies, including lower US crude stocks.”
Brent crude oil futures fell 0.39 percent to USD73.85 per barrel and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) by 0.50 percent to USD69.19 per barrel.
There will be no trading on Wednesday in observance of Eid’l Adha, the Muslim celebration of the Feast of Sacrifice.
The gains in the local bourse were partly mirrored by the peso after it ended Monday at 55.70 against the US dollar from its 55.77 close last Friday.
It opened the day at 55.77, weaker than its 55.6 start in the previous session.
It traded between 55.81 and 55.68, resulting in an average of 55.739.
Volume of trade reached USD646.4 million, down from USD1.06 billion last Friday.
Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) chief economist Michael Ricafort traced the peso’s performance partly to the announcement about the new Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor in the presence of Monetary Board (MB) member Eli Remolona, who will replace BSP Governor Felipe Medalla whose term ends on July 2.
He said the launch of the peso-US dollar cross-currency swaps market also benefited the local currency since this “would allow banks and their clients to hedge foreign exchange and interest rate risks for longer tenors.”
For Tuesday, the currency pair is seen to trade between 55.60 and 55.80. (PNA)
