Peso stays at P58.80:$1; PSEi snaps 8-day slump

THE peso arrested its fall on Monday but stayed at an over 19-month low while the stock market snapped an eight-day decline to edge higher.

The currency ended the day at P58.8 against the dollar, unchanged from Friday when it matched a close last seen on Nov. 3, 2022.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi), meanwhile, recovered some ground by climbing 1.85 percent, or 113.98 points, to 6,272.46.

The broader All Shares index added 32.57 points, or 0.96 percent, to 3,407.77.

The PSEi had fallen to 6,158.48, a six-month low, last Friday amid worries over the peso's weakness and the direction of key interest rates.

Security Bank Corp. chief economist Robert Dan Roces said the dollar remained strong and that results of this Thursday's Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) policy meeting would influence the peso-dollar rate moving forward.

The peso opened at the day's high of P58.85:$1 and traded as low as P58.78. Volume dropped to P559 million from Friday's P807 million.

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Philstocks Financials Inc. research associate Claire Alviar, meanwhile, said the PSEi's rebound was driven mostly by local investors looking to pick up bargains.

"[F]oreigners remained net sellers, registering a net outflow of P403.22 million," she noted.

«Many investors have decided to buy stocks at bargain levels after the market's steep decline last week,» Alviar said, adding that reports of an increase in government infrastructure spending had helped lift sentiment.

Net market value turnover stood at P5.51 billion, slightly stronger than the month-to-date average of P4.34 billion.

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Regina Capital Development Corp. managing director Luis Limlingan, meanwhile, said that «Philippine shares made a furious rebound to start the week after the dramatic selldown last Friday as investors went bargain hunting across the board ahead of the window dressing to end the semester.»

«The highlight for this week is the interest rate decision of the BSP on Thursday,» he said.

All sector indices except mining and oil (down 0.16 percent) ended the day in the green, with property up the most by 3.52 percent.

Decliners outnumbered gainers, 105 to 80, while 46 were unchanged.