MANILA – The Philippine Stocks Exchange index (PSEi) recovered Monday due to bargain hunting after a slide at the end of last week, while the peso was little changed against the greenback.
The main equities index rose 1.45 percent, or 84.90 points, to 5,930.92 points.
All Shares increased by 1.32 percent, or 45.84 points, to 3,513.37 points.
Most of the sectoral indices tracked the main index, led by the Property with a jump of 2.56 percent. It was trailed by the Holding Firms counter, 1.74 percent; Industrial, 1.39 percent; Services, 1.12 percent; and Mining and Oil, 0.75 percent.
Only the Financials counter finished the day on the red with a drop of 0.54 percent.
Volume totaled to 82.96 billion shares amounting to PHP4.88 billion.
Advancers led decliners at 125 to 74, while 45 shares were unchanged.
“Bargain hunting spilled over to the start of the week, as the latest employment report showed the economy added more jobs than expected last month and the latest stimulus from the US boosted sentiment as well,” Luis Limlingan, Regina Capital Development Corporation head of sales, said.
He was referring to the rise in non-farm payrolls in the US last July, which rose 1.8 million from expectations of about 1.5 million increase.
US President Donald Trump has signed four executive orders over the weekend, and one of which provides for as much as USD400 a week in enhanced unemployment benefits for people affected by the pandemic.
Others are payroll tax break for US citizens earning USD100,000 a year, an “assistance to renters and homeowners”, and a memorandum on deferring student loan payments.
Limlingan said the price of gold in the international market fell over 2 percent after its recent record-high levels following the release of the latest US jobs report, but added gold prices remain on track regarding its weekly gains for about a decade because of the pandemic.
Meanwhile, the local currency finished the day’s trade at 49.01, almost unchanged from its 49.041 close at the end of last week.
It opened the day at 49.05, better than its 49.072 start in the previous session.
It traded between 49.06 and 49.01, resulting in an average of 49.038.
Volume reached USD409.3 million, lower than the USD647.4 million last Friday. (PNA)
