Peso sustains strength vs greenback, PSEi recovers

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MANILA — Questions about the prospects on the approval of the Trump administration’s tax reform bill bode well for the Philippine peso, as the local currency continued to stay strong against the greenback while the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) recovered on Thursday.

The peso finished the day at 51.27 from Wednesday’s 51.30 against the dollar, and a trader also traced this to strong flows in the local equities market.

It started the day at 51.28, better than the previous session’s 51.35. It traded between 51.22 and 51.33, resulting in an average of 51.27 for the day.

Volume for the day reached USD614.9 million, lower than the USD721.85 million a day ago.

The currency pair is seen to trade between 51.20 and 51.40 Friday.

Also, the PSEi recovered Thursday after a four-day slide.

It finished the day at 8,519.82 points, up 0.13 percent or 11.33 points.

The broader All Shares followed with a 0.18 percent, or 8.79-point rise to 4,979.82 points.

Half of the sectors also registered gains during the day, specifically, the Holding Firms, 0.65 percent; Property, 0.31 percent; and Services, 0.25 percent.

Mining and Oil, on the other hand, declined the most with 4.90 percent, followed by Financials, 0.47 percent, and Industrial, 0.18 percent.

Volume for the day reached 1.5 billion shares amounting to PHP9.32 billion.

Losers led gainers, though, at 114 to 89, while 37 shares were unchanged. (PNA)