Manila: The Philippine peso strengthened against the US dollar on Friday, driven by continued net foreign buying in local equities, although the stock market saw a decline due to profit-taking activities. After five consecutive days of decline, the peso closed at 59.35 to the dollar, an improvement from Thursday's 59.46.
According to Philippines News Agency, the peso opened at 59.40 and traded within the range of 59.43 to 59.33, averaging 59.37. The trading volume, however, decreased to USD852.7 million from the previous day's USD1.1 billion. Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation chief economist Michael Ricafort noted that the US dollar/peso rate corrected slightly lower, influenced by the sustained net foreign buying at the local stock market for all 11 trading days since the start of 2026.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) fell by 0.35 percent to settle at 6,464.67, while the All Shares index decreased by 0.23 percent to 3,652.33. Half of the sectoral indices tracked the main gauge's decline, with Services dropping 1.74 percent, Mining and Oil decreasing by 1.69 percent, and Property dipping by 0.65 percent.
In contrast, the Financials sector gained 0.52 percent, Holding Firms rose by 0.07 percent, and the Industrial sector edged up by 0.006 percent. Total turnover for the day reached 1.83 billion shares, valued at PHP7.25 billion, with decliners outnumbering advancers at 99 to 93, and 77 issues remained unchanged.
