MANILA – Net foreign selling in the local bourse failed to dampen the main equities index but weakened the peso Friday.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) gained 1.56 percent, or 119.18 points, to 7,773.12 points, which a trader attributed to correction after the weakness on account of the concerns on the concessionaire contract in the country and the US-China trade discussion.
All Shares rose 0.88 percent, or 39.98 points, to 4,598.83 points.
Most of the sectors trailed the main index, led by Holding Firms, which improved by 2.57 percent.
It was followed by Financials, 1.72 percent; Mining and Oil, 1.36 percent; Property, 1.27 percent; and Services, 0.03 percent.
Only Industrial ended on the red after it fell 1.38 percent.
Volume reached 1.1 billion shares amounting to PHP12.2 billion.
Decliners led advancers at 92 to 78, while 55 shares were unchanged.
On the other hand, the peso ended the week at 50.815 from Thursday’s 50.635 against the US dollar.
Another trader traced the currency weakness to the foreign selling in the PSE as investors took advantage of the volatility in the local equities market.
The local unit opened at 50.63, sideways from the 50.61 start in the previous session.
It traded between 50.625 and 50.86, resulting in an average of 50.736.
Volume totaled to USD835.75 million, lower than the previous day’s USD998.7 million.
The currency pair is seen to trade between 50.60 and 50.90 on Monday. (PNA)
