Peso gains vs dollar; stock market takes a breather

THE peso regained ground on Wednesday, but the stock market ended flat with investors said to have taken a breather.

The currency, which touched P56:$1 on Tuesday, strengthened by 20 centavos to close at P55.75 against the dollar.

It opened at P55.85:$1 and ranged from P55.73 to P55.9. Volume reached P1.592 billion, higher than the P1.306 billion recorded in the previous session.

Michael Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., said the peso gained from a seasonal surge in overseas Filipino worker remittances and after the monetary policy officials signaled that policy rate cuts were unlikely for now.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index, meanwhile, dipped by 0.52 points — 0.01 percent — to 6,520.75, while the broader All Shares rose by 0.05 percent, or 1.70 points, to 3,434.41.

Claire Alviar, research associate at Philstocks Financial Inc., said the bourse experienced a «marginal decline» as profit-taking hit following gains in the past few days.

«Investors were also finding new catalysts to drive the market upward,» she added.

Foreign investors were net buyers, with a net inflow of P166.8 million.

Net market value turnover was P5.3 billion, higher than the year-to-date average of P4.89 billion.

Sector indices posted mixed performances, with mining leading gainers after rising by 0.79 percent.

Financials, on the other hand, dropped the most by 0.69 percent.

Advancers overwhelmed decliners, 96 against 89, while 42 were unchanged.