MANILA – The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) recovered on Friday while the peso ended sideways as investors weigh on the possibility of another cut in the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
After sliding for two consecutive days, the main equities index gained 0.91 percent, or 69.40 points, to 7,722.58 points.
All the other counters tracked the main index, with All Shares up by 0.45 percent, or 20.19 points, to 4,551.19 points.
Industrial posted the highest increase among the sectors with a 1.51-percent hike and was followed by Financials, 1.41 percent; Mining and Oil, 1.18 percent; Property, 0.97 percent; Services, 0.58 percent; and Holding Firms, 0.21 percent.
Volume reached 1.22 billion shares amounting to PHP6.27 billion.
Gainers led losers at 99 to 77 while 53 shares were unchanged.
BPI Research attributed the PSEi’s improvement to an indication from Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno on the possible continuation of the easing cycle on key policy rates this year after cutting it by 75 basis points last year.
Relatively, the peso ended the day at 50.891 against the US dollar from 50.831 a day ago. It opened the day at 50.87, weaker than its 50.63 start in the previous session, but improved to 50.81 before dipping to 50.98, resulting in an average of 50.898.
Volume reached USD1.3 billion, higher than the USD1.22 billion in the previous session.
The currency pair is seen to trade between 50.75 and 51.05 on Monday. (PNA)
