Philippine Stock Market Sees Slight Rise, Peso Remains Steady

In the final trading session of the week, the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) experienced a modest increase, closing at 6,098.04 points, up by 0.52 percent. Despite this, the overall All Shares index saw a decline of 0.31 percent, ending at 3,660.28 points. Luis Limlingan, head of sales at Regina Capital Development Corp., noted that the market’s slight uptick was influenced by investors’ reactions to the latest Federal Reserve minutes, which highlighted concerns over U.S. trade and immigration policies. The market closed just shy of the 6,100-point threshold. Among the sectors, only the Financials index ended in negative territory, dropping 0.28 percent to 2,266.63 points. On the other hand, the Property sector led the gains with a 1.53 percent increase, followed by Holding Firms at 0.92 percent, Industrial at 0.45 percent, Services at 0.34 percent, and Mining and Oil at a marginal 0.08 percent. The day’s trading saw 102 stocks advancing, 91 declining, and 44 remaining unchanged. Meanwhile, the Philippine peso held steady against the U.S. dollar, closing at 57.94. It opened at 57.90 and fluctuated between 57.94 and 57.96, with an average rate of 57.92. Trading volume decreased to USD1.33 billion from the previous day’s USD1.41 billion.