MANILA – The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) ended higher Thursday but the peso weakened against the US dollar due partly to the negative print of the domestic economy’s first quarter output this year.
The main equities index gained 0.25 percent, or 13.89 points, to 5,653.16 points.
All Shares, on the other hand, declined by 0.06 percent, or 2.17 points, to 3,413.88 points.
It was a mix among the sectors, with Property, Financials, and Holding Firms rising by 1.75 percent, 0.26 percent, and 0.19 percent, respectively.
Services fell by 1.65 percent; Mining and Oil by 1.28 percent, and Industrial, 0.93 percent.
Volume totaled to 477.9 million shares amounting to PHP4.9 billion.
Decliners led advancers at 112 to 63, while 42 shares were unchanged.
Meanwhile, the peso ended the day at 50.56 from 50.46 to a US dollar Wednesday.
It opened the day at 50.54, sideways from its 50.61 start a day ago.
It traded between 50.57 and 50.48, resulting in an average of 50.514.
Volume totaled to USD558.39 million, higher than the USD539.19 million in the previous session.
A trader attributed the peso’s close to the report about the contraction of domestic growth in the first quarter this year due to the impact of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
The government reported a 0.2-percent contraction in the first quarter gross domestic product (GDP), the first time after 84 consecutive quarters of growth or since the fourth quarter of 1998.
Growth in the last quarter of 2019 stood at 6.4 percent while year-ago figure was at 5.6 percent. (PNA)
