Share prices closed higher Wednesday on last-minute bargain hunting while the local currency dipped, echoing others in the region.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index was up by 12.39 points or 0.19 percent to 6,615.95.
The broader All Shares index was down by 2.06 points or 0.06 percent to 3,525.36.
Losers edged gainers 101 to 68 with 50 stocks unchanged. Trading turnover reached P3.8 billion.
The peso closed at 55.77 to the dollar, down from 55.725 on Tuesday. The currency opened at 55.77, hitting a high of 55.725 and a low of 55.82. Trading turnover reached $890.3 million.
Asian currencies edged lower on Wednesday, with the Malaysian ringgit falling most among peers, as market participants remained unnerved on account of no signs of progression in the US debt ceiling talks ahead of the fast-approaching deadline, Reuters reported.
The Malaysian ringgit fell 0.3 percent, hitting its lowest level since November, while the South Korean won was on track to snap a five-day rally, shedding 0.2 percent.
The Chinese yuan inched higher after hovering near six-month lows in the early part of the day as geopolitical risks continue to weigh on investor sentiment.
Elsewhere in Asia, the Indonesian rupiah remained unmoved, while the Thai baht and Singapore dollar rose 0.3 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively.
Claire Alviar, analyst at Philstocks Financial Inc., said the market traded sideways with a downward bias for most of the session before last-minute bargain hunters helped the index to close up.
“Investors took advantage of the two consecutive of market decline,” she said.
Alviar however said investors continue to monitor the developments on the US debt ceiling talk.
Most actively traded Ayala Corp. was down P18 to P699.50. SM Investments Corp. was up P9 to P929. BDO Unibank Inc. was down P1.90 to P136. SM Prime Holdings Inc. was down P0.50 to P34. Ayala Land Inc. was up P0.30 to P26.40. Jollibee Foods Corp. was up P1 to P230. International Container Terminal Services Inc. was up P0.80 to P201.40. PLDT Inc. was down P19 to P1,259. Bank of the Philippine Island was up P2 to P105. D&L Industries Inc. was down P0.15 to P7.45. — Ruelle Castro, Reuters
