Positive news overseas further lifts PH equities index, peso

MANILA yesterday (PNA)

– Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) ended the week up partly due to positive sentiments in the US and the peso mirrored this output.

The main equities index gained 0.14 percent, or 9.37 points, to 6,674.51 points.

All Shares increased by 0.31 percent, or 12.56 points, to 4,047.48 points.

Most of the sectoral gauges also gained during the day, led by the Services after it rose by 1.93 per cent .

Property jumped by 1.06 percent, Financials, 0.86 percent; Industrial, 0.74 percent; and Mining and Oil, 0.23 percent.

Only the Holding Firms ended the trade on the red after it declined by 1.48 percent.

Volume totaled 1.67 billion shares amounting to PHP12.41 billion.

Gainers led losers at 119 to 69 while 66 shares were unchanged.

Luis Limlingan, Regina Capital Development Corporation head of sales, attributed the PSEi’s performance partly to positive economic data from the US such as the drop in initial jobless claims, which fell to 406,000 as of the week ending May 22.

He said, “the economic recovery encouraged companies to start hiring.”

The second reading for the 2021 first-quarter output of the world’s largest economy remained at 6.4 percent.

“While the overall sentiment is positive, it seems that investors are still looking at when the Fed will start holding off on bond purchases,” Limlingan sai d.

Relatively, the peso strengthened to 47.8 against the US dollar from its 47.985 close a day ago.

It opened the day at 47.97, an improvement from its 48.18 start in the previous session.

It traded between 47.98 and 47.777, resulting in an average of 47.901.

The volume of trade reached USD1.06 billion, lower than the previous trading day’s USD1.09 billion. (PNA)