MANILA – The local stock market and currency both exhibited strength on the first day of trading this week.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) surged back above the 6,000-point threshold following a three-day rally, posting an 88.76-point increase on Monday, bringing the index to 6,078.03. All Shares also saw an uptick of 29.10 points, settling at 3,292.15.

Except for the Industrial sector, which experienced a slight dip of 2.50 points, all sectoral indices concluded the day in positive territory. The Holding Firms sector saw the most significant gains, with shares rising by 126.43 points.

Claire Alviar, the assistant research manager at Philstocks Financial, Inc., attributed the strong PSEi performance to “the robust Philippine manufacturing PMI (purchasing managers’ index) data and a decrease in US long-term Treasury yields.” Alviar also mentioned, “Upcoming economic data releases, including the expected improvements in the inflation rate and GDP (gross domestic product) growth rate, further bolstered market confidence.”

The total market value turnover on the local stock market reached PHP3.21 billion.

Advancing stocks slightly outnumbered decliners, with 87 to 86, while 51 issues remained unchanged.

Robust start for the peso

On the currency front, the peso had a robust start to the week, closing at 55.91 against the US dollar, marking a 0.19 improvement from the previous week’s closing rate of 56.10.

The peso began the day at 55.80, a notable gain from Friday’s opening rate of 56.60. Throughout the day, the currency pair traded within the range of 55.73 to 55.93, with an average rate of 55.83 to the dollar.

Trade volume saw a decline to USD1.15 billion, down from Friday’s USD1.84 billion.

(ai/mnm)

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) experienced a continued decline for two consecutive days, closing at 5,961.99, a 0.94 percent decrease. The broader All Shares index also saw a 0.60-point drop, settling at 3,246.47.

Regina Capital Development Corp.’s Head of Sales, Luis Limlingan, explained, “Philippine shares ended the week below 6,000 as investors analyzed a multitude of local corporate earnings reports.”

Investor sentiment on Friday was influenced by the off-cycle interest rate hike by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, contributing to the overall decline. All sectors ended in negative territory, with the Property sector experiencing the most significant drop at 1.72 percent.

Declining stocks outnumbered advancing ones, with a ratio of 93 to 78, while 53 remained unchanged.

In contrast, the Philippine peso remained stable at 56.96 against the US dollar. It began the day at 56.98, following the previous day’s opening rate of 56.95. Throughout the day, the currency pair traded between 56.85 and 56.98, with an average rate of 56.90 against the US dollar.

Trading volume continued to rise, reaching USD 1.65 billion on Friday, compared to the previous day’s volume of USD 1.08 billion.

(ai/mnm)