Peso steady, stocks fall due to economic reopening concerns

The Philippine peso closed nearly unchanged against the US dollar on Wednesday at 50.26, while the main equities index fell to 5,626.25 points due to concerns over reopening the economy.

Volume in foreign exchange reached USD390.5 million, lower than Tuesday’s session.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) declined for the second consecutive day, with all shares declining by 0.45 percent and sectoral indices led by Mining and Oil falling 1.28 percent.

Regina Capital Development Corp.’s Luis Limlingan attributed the negative close to investors’ assessment of attempts to reopen the economy across the region and US politicians' failure to finalize a new stimulus.