By Joann Villanueva/PNA
MANILA — The continued decline in world crude prices has sustained the Philippine peso’s strength against the US dollar while news that a global furniture company plans to invest in the Philippines has lifted the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi).
The local currency on Tuesday gained PHP0.18 to the greenback after ending the day’s trade at 52.39 from 52.57 a day ago.
Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), in its market report, said the peso benefited from the “broad US dollar weakness and stabilization of oil prices.”
For the day, the local unit opened at 52.53, sideways from the 52.6 start in the previous session.
The day’s closing rate was also the peso’s strongest level while its weakest stood at 52.63, bringing the average to 52.533.
Volume reached USD763.81 million, higher than the previous day’s USD561.81 million.
The peso is seen to trade between 52.40 and 52.70 to the dollar on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the main stocks gauge rose 0.45 percent, or 32.68 points, to 7,302.94 points.
BPI attributed this to news that Ikea plans to build its largest store in Manila and is scheduled to open in 2020.
PSEI’s rise was tracked by All Shares after it inched up by 0.26 percent, or 11.52 points, to 4,398.34 points.
It was, however, a mix among the other sectors, with Property, Holding Firms, and Financials rising by 0.97 percent, 0.74 percent, and 0.56 percent, respectively.
At the other end are Mining and Oil, which dropped by 2.80 percent; Services, 0.92 percent; and Industrial, 0.62 percent.
Volume reached 949.31 million shares amounting to PHP6.92 billion shares.
Decliners surpassed advancers at 109 to 84 while 47 stocks were unchanged.
