By Komfie Manalo
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) maintained its positive trajectory on Friday as investors took a cue from speculation that the Fed will soon announce a rate cut.
Following the market close on Friday, the PSEi surged by 38.99 points to 6,648.23, while All Shares also saw a gain of 20.54 points to 3,576.22, reflecting the positive market sentiment.
"The local bourse gained this session by 38.99 points (0.59%) to 6,648.23 as the latest US inflation rate increased the chance of the Federal Reserve reducing interest rates, which also heightened the possibility of a rate cut from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas," said Philstock Financials, Inc. research associate Claire Alviar.
Most sectors joined the PSEi in green territory, with Services leading the pack with a significant gain of 1.64%, followed by Banks, which also showed a healthy increase of 0.70%.
Industrials, however, lost the most, declining by 0.63%. Advancers led decliners at 93 to 83, leaving 50 counters unchanged.
The Philippine peso, meanwhile, slightly appreciated, closing at 58.38 to a dollar from Thursday's 58.30 finish.
It opened the day at 58.26 and traded between 58.24 to 58.43.
The weighted average for the day stood at 58.33.
The total trade volume fell to $944.01 million from $1.1 billion on Thursday.
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