The local stock barometer and the peso finished strong on Tuesday, a day after President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s second State of the Nation Address (SONA).
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) closed trading with 29.86 points increase to 6,661.11, with all counters ending in the green.
All shares were higher by 13.67 points from previous day’s trading to 3,540.38.
Mining and Oil led the sectors for two consecutive days, gaining by 103.23 points to end at 10,286.13 level. This was followed by Industrial, up by 48.21 points to 9,346.42; Holding Firms, 15.95 points to 6,422.78; Financials, 13.27 points to 1,964.95; Services, 10.17 points to 1,596.20; and Property, 8.56 points to 2,715.07.
“Philippine shares notched a winning session ahead of the Fed’s (Federal Reserve) policy decision later tonight. The market widely expects the Fed to raise rates by 25 bps (basis points),” said Regina Capital Development Corp. head of sales Luis Limlingan.
Gainers and losers equaled at 90, with shares of 51 listed firms left unchanged.
Total shares traded during the day reached 616.12 million amounting to P4.34 billion.
Meanwhile, the peso appreciated by 0.21 to 54.55 to a United States dollar from 54.76 the previous day.
The local currency opened the day sideways at 54.60 from Monday’s kick off at 54.68.
The currency pair traded between 54.49 and 54.63, bringing the average level at 54.56 to the greenback.
“For tomorrow, the peso exchange rate could range at the 54.45 to 54.65 levels,” Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael Ricafort said yesterday.*PNA
