PSEi, peso climb on revised Q2 GDP, economic reopening hopes

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) and the peso saw gains on Monday, partly influenced by an upward revision of the country's second-quarter GDP growth to 12 percent.

The PSEi increased by 0.76 percent, with most sectoral indexes also showing positive movement, except for Mining and Oil and Holding Firms.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) attributed the GDP revision to stronger contributions from the education, financial and insurance, and construction sectors.

The peso was also boosted by expected increased remittance inflows from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) ahead of the Christmas season.

Market optimism regarding the further reopening of the economy, potentially through a nationwide Alert Level System by December, contributed to the positive trading.

A decline in daily COVID-19 infections further supported the outlook for economic reopening and strengthened the equities index and local currency.

Improvements in US jobs data and the Federal Reserve's decision to scale back its bond-buying program were cited as additional positive factors.

The peso closed at 50.16 against the US dollar, stronger than its previous closing of 50.33.

Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) chief economist Michael Ricafort forecasts the PSEi's next resistance level at 7,500 and the peso to trade between 49.70 to 50 on Tuesday.