MANILA – Philippine stocks and the peso posted gains on Tuesday as investors welcomed signs of easing tensions in the Middle East.
The benchmark PSEi rose by 0.63 percent to finish at 5,936.20, while the All Shares index increased by 0.57 percent to 3,295.23.
Luis Limlingan of Regina Capital Development Corp. said the local market staged a rebound after Monday’s sharp sell-off. He pointed to improved market sentiment following comments from US President Donald Trump indicating that a possible strike on Iran’s power plants might be postponed.
The development temporarily eased geopolitical concerns, which in turn supported equities not only in the Philippines but also in other global markets.
Still, Limlingan said market participants remain watchful as oil prices remain high amid supply uncertainties linked to the ongoing tensions in the region.
Sectoral performance was mostly positive, led by the Mining and Oil index, which jumped 3.4 percent.
Other sectors that recorded gains included Financials at 1.63 percent, Property at 1.51 percent, Holding Firms at 0.94 percent, and Industrial at 0.74 percent.
Meanwhile, the Services sector slipped by 0.49 percent, the only index to end the day in the red.
Trading turnover remained modest with 633.85 million shares valued at PHP5.7 billion changing hands.
Market breadth favored gainers, with 129 advancing stocks, compared to 63 decliners, while 59 issues were unchanged.
The peso also strengthened, closing at 59.95 per US dollar, improving from the previous day’s 60.30.
It opened trading at 59.90 and moved within a range of 59.68 to 60.15 before settling with an average rate of 59.92.
Dollar trading volume reached USD2.69 billion, up from Monday’s USD1.65 billion.
elamigo/xf
