PSEi, peso gain for third straight day

Both the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) and the Philippine peso have strengthened for three consecutive trading days.

The PSEi inched up by 0.06 percent to 6,539.02 on Thursday, the second to last trading day of the year, with all counters showing improvement except for Services and Holding Firms.

Property saw the most significant gain at 0.87 percent, followed by Financials, Industrial, and Mining and Oil sectors.

Market sentiment was influenced by last-minute bargain hunting, hopes of an early 2025 rate cut by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), a strengthening local currency, and positive cues from Wall Street.

Trading volume was lethargic with a net value turnover of PHP2.22 billion, below the year-to-date average, though foreigners were net buyers with inflows of PHP73.10 million.

The peso also showed strength against the US dollar, contributing to the positive performance of the local stock market.