MANILA – Optimism returned to the local bourse on Wednesday on news about the easing of tensions between Ukraine and Russia while the peso strengthened against the US dollar.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) gained 1.95 percent, or 142.88 points, to 7,452.82 points.
All Shares tracked the main gauge with a jump of 1.82 percent, or 70.34 points, to 3,930.54 points.
Property led the sector indices with an increase of 3.99 percent, followed by Services, 2.40 percent; Industrial, 1.70 percent; Mining and Oil, 1.64 percent; Holding Firms, 1.06 percent; and Financials, 0.69 percent.
Volume totaled 1.16 billion shares amounting to PHP9.53 billion.
Advancers led decliners at 123 to 63, while 49 shares were unchanged.
“Philippine shares broke from the slump after Russia appeared to be backing away from an immediate invasion of Ukraine, cooling geopolitical tensions that have knocked the stock market down the previous days,” said Luis Limlingan, Regina Capital Development Corporation (RCDC) head of sales.
Reports quoting the Russian Defense Ministry said soldiers sent near the borders with Ukraine have been ordered to return to bases after the training exercises.
The local currency closed the trade at 51.285 against the greenback from 51.382 on Tuesday.
It opened the day at 51.319 and traded between 51.34 and 51.27. The average level stood at 51.296.
Volume increased to USD596.1 million from the previous session’s USD560.28 million. (PNA)
