MANILA - The Philippine stock market and currency both ended the week on a stronger note following the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) decision to maintain its policy rates. The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) closed significantly higher on Friday, reaching the 6,200-mark.
According to Philippines News Agency, head of sales Luis Limlingan, the PSEi’s rise to 6,211.89 points was influenced by investors analyzing the implications of BSP's recent monetary policy decision. The Monetary Board’s decision to keep the key rate at 6.5 percent was a contributing factor. Philstocks Financial, Inc. assistant research manager Claire Alviar noted that the positive reaction from investors was also due to the slowdown in inflation in both the Philippines and the US, creating expectations of a pause in interest rate hikes by both the BSP and the Federal Reserve. The net market value turnover on the stock market was PHP3.63 billion, despite decliners outnumbering gainers. In the currency market, the Philippine peso strengthened to a four-month high of 55.67 against the US dollar, with a trade volume of USD1.18 billion.