The local stock market and the Philippine peso both extended their gains for a second straight day on Wednesday.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) climbed 0.73 percent to close at 6,465.45, while the broader All Shares index rose 0.59 percent to 3,768.38.
“Philippine shares were bought up for a second day following the latest inflation data. The PSEi approached the 6,500 level, though gains were capped by profit-taking later in the session,” said Luis Limlingan, head of sales at Regina Capital Development Corp.
Among the sectoral indices, Industrials led the advance with a 1.36 percent gain to 9,112.02. Services followed with a 1.18 percent rise to 2,072.38, while Financials improved by 1.13 percent to 2,486.22. Mining and Oil edged up 0.17 percent to 9,721.48, and Holding Firms added 0.08 percent to close at 5,391.64. The Property index was the only laggard, slipping 0.35 percent to 2,292.81.
Market breadth was positive, with 113 advancers outnumbering 72 decliners, while 48 issues were unchanged.
On the currency front, the peso strengthened to 55.40 against the US dollar, up from Tuesday’s close of 55.61. It opened the session stronger at 55.40, compared to the previous day’s opening of 55.80. Throughout the day, the peso traded between 55.22 and 55.48, averaging 55.35 to the dollar.
Trading volume declined to $2.07 billion from $2.28 billion in the previous session.
