The Philippine peso and local stocks rose Tuesday after US President Donald Trump announced a five-day pause on military attacks against Iran, sparking a wave of relief across regional markets.
The peso closed at 59.95 against the US dollar, recovering from a record low of 56.30 on Monday. The recent weakness of the local currency has exacerbated domestic fuel prices as conflict in the Middle East continues to disrupt global commodity flows.
The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index gained 37.02 points, or 0.63 percent, to finish at 5,936.20, but it remained below the 6,000 level. The broader all-shares index added 18.64 points, or 0.57 percent, to end at 3,295.23.
Wall Street and other Asian markets similarly rebounded as investors welcomed signs of de-escalation. However, market participants remained cautious after Iran denied that any formal talks with the United States were taking place.
Philstocks Financial Inc. said bargain-hunting activities supported the recovery after the index plummeted below the 5,900 level during the previous session.
Most sub-indices tracked the general gain. Mining and oil surged 3.4 percent, followed by financials at 1.63 percent, property at 1.51 percent, holding firms at 0.94 percent and industrial indices at 0.74 percent. The services sector was the sole decliner, falling 0.49 percent.
Trading remained thin with value turnover at P5.78 billion, despite gainers outnumbering decliners 129 to 63. Foreign investors continued to pull back, recording a net outflow of P755.5 million and marking the 14th consecutive day of net selling.
ACEN Corp. led the index gainers, rising 5.53 percent to P2.67. China Banking Corp. trailed the list, dropping 2.02 percent to P65.50.
