MANILA – The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) closed higher for the second straight trading day as the peso continued to trade at the 56 level on Wednesday.
The PSEi ended the day 0.82 percent higher at 6,704.96, with all counters finishing in the green territory.
All Shares increased by 0.54 percent to 3,629.30.
“The positive spillovers from Wall Street’s overnight rally, driven by the US’ below expected producers’ price index numbers, gave a boost in today’s session,” Philstocks Financial, Inc. senior research analyst Japhet Tantiangco said.
“The local currency’s recent strengthening against the US dollar also helped in sustaining the market’s upward movement.”
Among the sectoral indices, the biggest gains came from the Property sector, with shares up by 1.69 percent, followed by Mining and Oil (1.44 percent), Industrial (+1.33 percent), and Holding Firms (+0,80 percent).
Services and Financials, inched up by 0.06 and 0.02 percent, respectively.
Despite the positive performance of the overall bourse, 105 firms closed with losses compared to the 98 that gained points. Shares of 54 firms remained unchanged.
Meanwhile, the peso closed flat at 56.96 against the US dollar, staying at the 56 level for two consecutive days.
It opened the day better at 56.90 from its 57.25 kick-off the previous day.
The currency pair traded between 56.84 and 57.12, bringing the day’s average to 56.96 to the greenback.
Trade volume declined to USD1.34 billion from Tuesday’s USD1.8 billion. (PNA)