MANILA – Philippine shares ended Thursday on a positive note, recovering from earlier volatility even as the peso continued to depreciate against the US dollar.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) increased by 1.15 percent to finish at 6,380.53 points. Likewise, the broader All Shares Index went up by 1.16 percent to 3,525.99.
Sectoral indices all recorded gains, with Mining and Oil posting the biggest increase at 1.92 percent. Services followed with a 1.87-percent rise, while Industrial shares climbed by 1.32 percent.
Financial stocks grew by 0.91 percent, Property by 0.71 percent, and Holding Firms by 0.43 percent.
A total of 1.91 billion shares valued at PHP6.3 billion changed hands during the session. Market breadth was positive, with 125 advancing stocks compared to 72 decliners, while 59 issues closed unchanged.
On the currency front, the peso slipped to 58.63 against the US dollar, weakening from Wednesday’s close of 58.57.
The local currency opened the session stronger at 58.40, improved further to 58.33 during trading, but eventually reversed gains and ended the day lower. The average exchange rate for the session stood at 58.46.
Foreign exchange turnover declined to USD1.57 billion from the previous day’s USD1.77 billion.
According to Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation chief economist Michael Ricafort, the latest inflation data also affected forex trading.
Inflation accelerated to 2.4 percent in February from 2 percent in January, although it still remains within the government’s target band of 2 to 4 percent.
Ricafort said the ongoing conflict in the Middle East could further fuel inflationary pressures, particularly through higher global oil prices that may drive up the cost of goods.
elamigo/
