THE Philippine peso remained at its record-low level of P63.09 against the greenback on Tuesday, while the stock market debut of GCash operator Mynt accounted for a significant share of trading activity.
The local currency opened at P63.03 and traded between a high of P62.98 and a low of P63.11 during the session.
Trading volume declined to $1.359 billion from $1.778 billion in the previous session.
Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael Ricafort said the peso remained under pressure due to a stronger dollar.
ANZ Research said the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) might have been intervening to smooth excessive volatility, but “declining reserves could limit the extent of intervention.”
Gross international reserves (GIR) dropped to $99.99 billion as of end-September, markedly lower than the $104.85 billion and $109.06 billion recorded a month and year earlier.
This is the lowest reserves recorded since September 2023’s $98.12 billion.
“Consequently, the PHP could weaken to 64/USD, adding to imported inflation pressures,” ANZ Research said.
Philippine shares, meanwhile, edged higher on Tuesday as bargain hunting supported the market.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) rose 8.27 points, or 0.14 percent, to close at 5,806.17, moving above the 5,800 resistance level after trading sideways during the session.
Japhet Tantiangco, Philstocks Financial Inc.’s research manager, said investors continued to pick up shares, allowing the market to finish in positive territory.
Trading strengthened, with net value turnover reaching P8.51 billion, excluding extraordinary block sales.
Mynt Inc., which trades under the ticker GCash, closed flat at its initial public offering price of P6.60 per share on its first day of trading.
Regina Capital Development Corp. head of sales Luis Limlingan said the market’s advance was modest as attention remained focused on Mynt’s debut, while broader participation was limited as investors stayed on the sidelines.
Sentiment also remained cautious ahead of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) upcoming interest rate decision, Limlingan said.
Market breadth was negative, with 105 decliners outnumbering 84 gainers, while 69 issues were unchanged.
Conglomerates led sectoral gains, rising 1.46 percent, while mining and oil shares posted the steepest decline, shedding 2.13 percent.
SM Investments Corp. was the best-performing index stock, climbing 2.40 percent to P555, while PLDT Inc. was the biggest laggard, falling 3.85 percent to P1,250.
