Share prices closed up Wednesday, tracking overseas leads.
The peso closed down.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) was up 13.11 points, a 0.2 percent hike to 6,541.91.
The broader All Shares index was up 8.16 points or 0.23 percent to 3,490.91.
Losers edged gainers 92 to 80 with 48 stocks unchanged. Trading turnover reached $3.66 billion.
The peso closed at 54.515 to the dollar, down from 54.41. The currency opened at 54.45, an intraday high and hit a low of 54.65. Trading turnover reached $1.05 billion.
Major Asian currencies eased on Wednesday as the US dollar held firm after US retail sales data sealed expectations of an interest rate increase next week, Reuters reported.
The dollar index steadied at around 100 in Asian trade as the greenback rebounded from a 15-month low in the previous session.
“Asian markets are likely to range-trade today, caught between China’s tepid growth story and upbeat US earnings results,” OCBC analysts said in a note early in the trade.
US retail sales data for June painted a picture of consumer resilience and did not change expectations that the Federal Reserve would resume rate hikes this month.
On the earnings front, major Wall Street banks said higher interest rates had helped boost profits in the second quarter.
“Overall, the bank earnings and the retail sales numbers are feeding into some belief that the US economy can head into a soft landing and avoid a recession,” said Maybank analysts.
Claire Alviar, analyst at Philstocks Financial Inc., said the market tracked optimism overseas “following the performance of the US markets overnight fueled by the strong Wall Street’s earnings.”
“Asian markets were also mostly in the green,” she said.
Most actively traded BDO Unibank Inc. was up P2.20 to P141.70. Jollibee Foods Corp. was up P5 to P255. SM Investments Corp. was down P8 to P921. Ayala Land Inc. was up P0.35 to P26.05. Bloomberry Resorts Corp. was up P0.26 to P11.46. SM Prime Holdings Inc. was stead at P33. GT Capital Holdings Inc. was up P5 to P530. International Container Terminal Services Inc. was up P0.60 to P207.60. Bank of the Philippine Islands was down P2.70 to P113.40. Metro Pacific Investments Corp. was steady at P4.92.
