MANILA – The local stock market closed stronger on Thursday amid expectations that the Central Bank will keep interest rates steady.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) went up by 20.35 points to close at 6,191.48, while the broader All Shares also went up by 6.77 points to 3,314.49.
“The PSEi gained for the 2nd straight day, by 20.35 points or 0.3 percent, to close at 6,191.48, near 1-month highs or since Oct. 20, 2023 shortly before the widely expected pause in local policy rates, as widely expected by the markets,” said Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) chief economist Michael Ricafort.
Among the sectoral indices, only Mining and Oil closed in the negative territory, declining by 32.16 points.
Advancers led decliners at 88 to 81, while 48 shares were unchanged.
The peso, meanwhile, closed at PHP55.79 to a dollar from Wednesday’s PHP55.825 closing.
The local currency kicked off at PHP55.9 and traded between PHP55.75 and PHP55.935 to the greenback.
The volume of trade went down to USD1.2 billion from Wednesday’s USD1.4 billion. (PNA)