Peso slightly up vs. USD; PSEi down

FILE: The local unit finished the day at 51.75 from 51.77 a day ago, which a trader pointed said was a turn-around after hitting a fresh 11-year low against the greenback Wednesday. (PNA PHOTO)

MANILA — Off-loading by exporters and money changers of their dollar holders favored the Philippine peso Thursday while the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) finished on the red a day after recovering.

The local unit finished the day at 51.75 from 51.77 a day ago, which a trader pointed said was a turn-around after hitting a fresh 11-year low against the greenback Wednesday.

It opened the day at 51.75, weaker than the 51.63 a day ago.

It traded between 51.77 and 51.68, bringing the day’s average to 51.74.

Volume for the day reached USD650 million, down from the USD773 million a day ago.

The currency pair is seen to trade between 51.60 and 51.80 Friday.

PSEi, meanwhile, shed 0.43 percent or 35.43 points to 8,267.92 points due to investors’ decision to stay at the sidelines ahead of the European Central Bank’s (ECB) meeting later in the day.

The broader All Shares followed with a drop of 0.39 percent or 19.11 points to 4,845.45 points.

Most of the sectors also lost during the day with both the Holding Firms and Property finishing with an 0.82 percent decline followed by Services, 0.50 percent; and Mining and Oil, 0.04 percent.

Financials and Industrial rose by 0.27 percent and 0.17 percent, respectively.

Volume for the day reached 992.58 million shares amounting to PHP4.72 billion.

Losers led gainers at 102 to 77 while 58 stocks were unchanged. (PNA)