Stocks up, peso bucks regional trend

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The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) was up 92.66 points to 6,632.57, a 1.42 percent hike.

The broader all shares index was up 38.45 points to 4,093.87, a 0.95 percent hike.
Gainers edged losers 115 to 91 with 34 stocks unchanged. Trading turnover reached P6.4 billion.

The peso closed at 50.385, up from 50.40 on Friday.

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The currency opened at 50.49 and hit a high of 50.31 and a low of 50.50. Trading turnover reached $682.88 million.

The peso bucked the broader trend and gained 0.6 percent, while local stocks rose 1.4 percent to be the top gainer in the region after Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) forecast a strong economic recovery in the second-quarter, Reuters reported.

Philippine policymakers will meet on Thursday to decide on key interest rates, while second-quarter economic data will be released Tuesday.

BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno said the central bank would stay accommodative for as long as needed to ensure a sustainable economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic as the capital city Manila remains in lockdown.

However, some market views on growth prospects for the Philippines were less upbeat, with Nicholas Mapa, ING senior economist, expecting a quarter-on-quarter contraction.

“With the economy likely exiting then re-entering recession, we expect BSP to maintain monetary support for the balance of 2021 and well into 2022,” he added.

Financial markets in Japan and Singapore were shut due to a holiday.

Meanwhile, the greenback strengthened after a strong US jobs report stoked bets that a reduction in asset purchases could start this year and higher interest rates could follow as soon as 2022.

The Thai baht, Indonesian rupiah and South Korean won lost between 0.1 percent and 0.3 percent.

Luis Limlingan, managing director at Regina Capital Development Corp., said investors found a reason to buy stocks “following a Friday US rally bolstered by the stronger than expected jobs report.”

Investors are on watch for the second quarter gross domestic product result the government is set to release today “which is seen to influence the Monetary Board meeting that will be held on August 12,” Limlingan said.

“Investors have been buying ahead of projected bounce in economic growth in the 2nd quarter,” he added.

Most actively traded AC Energy Corp. was up P0.22 to P9.37. Converge Information and Communication Technology Solutions Inc. was up P0.50 to P27.15. Emperador Inc. was down P0.50 to P13.10. Monde Nissin Corp. was up P1.08 to P16.78. Ayala Land Inc. was up P1.50 to P33.80. International Container Terminal Services Inc. was up P1.90 to P186.

DMCI Holdings Inc. was down P0.25 to P5.48. PLDT Inc. was down P25 to P1,250. Nickel Asia Corp. was down P0.27 to P5.83. SM Investments Corp. was up P26 to P989. – Ruelle Castro

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