PNA graphics
MANILA – The local bourse’s main index ended higher on Thursday, a day after the Eid al-Adha holiday, while the peso moved sideways against the United States dollar.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) rose by 0.13 percent, or 8.64 points, to 6,511.49 points.
All Shares followed with a jump of 0.06 percent, or 2.08 points, to 3,465.89 points.
Most of the sectoral indices also gained, led by Financials which increased 1.09 percent; Property, 0.75 percent; Industrial, 0.25 percent; and Holding Firms, 0.16 percent.
On the other hand, Services slipped by 1.89 percent and Mining and Oil by 0.05 percent.
Volume reached 1.07 billion shares amounting to PHP6.79 billion.
Decliners led advancers at 94 to 79 while 51 shares were unchanged.
“Philippine shares edged higher on Thursday as investors digested Fed (Federal Reserve) Chair Jerome Powell’s latest comments about the tightening cycle,” said Luis Limlingan, Regina Capital Development Corporation (RCDC) head of sales.
This, after Powell, in a forum in Europe on Wednesday, indicated that more hikes are coming given the current inflation environment in the US.
Oil prices also rose by 2.5 percent to USD74.03 per barrel for the Brent crude and by 2.8 percent to USD69.56 per barrel for the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) due to larger than expected decline in US stockpiles.
Meanwhile, the peso ended the day at 55.3 against the US dollar from its 55.32 close on Tuesday.
It opened the day at 55.32, better than its 55.67 start in the previous session.
It traded between 55.45 and 55.23, resulting in an average of 55.362.
Volume reached USD905.1 million, lower than the USD1.03 billion last Tuesday. (PNA)
