MANILA – The peso appreciated anew against the US dollar and the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) rallied for the third straight day Thursday amid the government’s report about the domestic economy registering a contraction for the second consecutive quarter.
The main equities index rose by 1.18 percent, or 69 points, to 5,902.58 points.
All Shares increased by 0.85 percent, or 29.32 points, to 3,485.61 points.
Industrial led the sectors with a jump of 1.84 percent and was trailed by Holding Firms, 1.44 percent; Services, 0.93 percent; Property, 0.84 percent; and Financials, 0.37 percent.
Only the Mining and Oil shed during the day after it lost 1.96 percent.
Volume totaled 7.27 billion shares amounting to PHP6.5 billion.
Losers led gainers at 90 to 88, while 46 shares were unchanged.
“Local shares extended gains despite the lower-than-expected Q2 GDP (second-quarter gross domestic product) reading, as investors accepted the weakness in the economy and looked ahead to the coming quarters,” Luis Limlingan, Regina Capital Development Corporation head of sales, said.
The government on Thursday reported a 16.5-percent contraction of the domestic economy in the second quarter of the year, deeper than the revised -0.7 percent in the first three months since it was the peak of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) implemented over Luzon.
Economic managers have also revised their output forecast for this year from 2 to 3.4 percent contraction to -5.5 percent while the figure for 2021 was revised from a growth of 8 to 9 percent to 6.5 to 7.5 percent. The 2022 growth forecast is also a range of between 6.5 to 7.5 percent.
Limlingan said sentiments during the day were also boosted by hopes for a US stimulus deal to be approved by the end of this week.
Reports saying Federal Reserve officials are hopeful for an economic rebound in the third quarter this year if there are additional stimulus programs contributed to the positive sentiments, he added.
Meanwhile, the local currency finished the day at 49.05 from its 49.075 close a day ago.
It opened the trade at 49.06 and traded between 49.09 and 49.01. This brought the day’s average to 49.055.
The volume of trade reached USD587.1 million, lower than the USD699.7 million in the previous session. (PNA)
