MANILA – The Philippine peso achieved its strongest finish in nearly four months on Tuesday 13 Aug 2024), closing at 56.96 against the US dollar. This marks a significant rebound as the peso returns to the 56 level, strengthening by 0.36 from Monday’s closing rate of 57.32 to the greenback.

The peso opened the day at 57.25, fluctuating within a range of 56.92 to 57.30, with an average trading level of 57.14 to the dollar.

According to Michael Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., the peso’s recent performance is the strongest since April 15, 2024, when it closed at 56.81 to a dollar. “This appreciation is a positive signal for the financial markets and the broader economy,” Ricafort noted.

Projections for Wednesday suggest the peso will trade within the 56.85 to 57.05 range.

The volume of trade also saw an uptick, increasing to USD1.8 billion from the previous day’s USD1.18 billion.

The stronger peso positively influenced investor sentiment, leading to a 0.56 percent rise in the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi), which closed at 6,650.44 on Tuesday. The All Shares index also saw an improvement, gaining 0.32 percent to finish at 3,610.00.

Among the sectoral indices, Property led the gainers with a 1.69 percent increase, followed by Industrial (+0.56 percent), Holding Firms (+0.44 percent), and Services (+0.37 percent). However, Mining and Oil, as well as Financials, ended in the red, losing 1.09 percent and 0.18 percent, respectively.

Despite the positive momentum, decliners outnumbered advancers at 100 to 81, with 64 stocks remaining unchanged.

Philstocks Financial Inc. senior research analyst Japhet Tantiangco attributed the market’s recovery to the peso’s strength against the US dollar, along with investor optimism surrounding second quarter and first half corporate earnings.

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MANILA – The local stock market concluded the last trading day of the week in negative territory due to net foreign selling, while the peso closed nearly unchanged.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) plunged by 186.08 points to 6,158.48. Similarly, the broader All Shares also declined by 65.11 points to 3,375.20.

“The local bourse dropped by 186.08 points (2.93%) to reach 6,158.48 due to significant net foreign selling and recorded a net outflow of P1.34 billion,” said Claire Alviar, research associate at Philstock Financials, Inc., adding that this marks its lowest level this year and its eighth consecutive day of decline. Additionally, she noted that the weakness of the peso against the US dollar continued to impact sentiment.

“Negative sentiment from our regional peers also affected market performance after Japan’s May core inflation data came in slightly cooler than expected,” Alviar added.

All sectors declined with Mining and Oil leading with a fall of 345.18 points.
Decliners outnumbered advancers at a ratio of 108 to 74 while there were no changes in share prices for about52 shares.

Meanwhile,the peso closed almost flat at58.8to adollar on Friday comparedtothe previous closing figureof58..78on Thursday.The last time it reached this level was on Nov3It openedat58..83and traded between58..78and58..88.The weighted average forthe day was recorded at58..835.Total trade volume decreasedto USD8079from USD12billiontheprevious day.

(el Amigo/Source:PNA)