By Danielle Tiu
MANILA – The Philippine peso strengthened against the US dollar on Friday, buoyed by sustained foreign buying in local equities, even as the stock market retreated amid profit-taking.
The peso snapped a five-day losing streak to close at 59.35 per dollar, improving from 59.46 in the previous session. It opened at 59.40 and moved within the 59.33 to 59.43 range, averaging 59.37 for the day.
Trading volume declined to USD 852.7 million, lower than Thursday’s USD 1.1 billion.
Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation chief economist Michael Ricafort said the peso’s slight appreciation reflected continued net foreign inflows into the local stock market.
“The US dollar-peso exchange rate corrected modestly lower, or peso stronger, following persistent net foreign buying in local equities for all 11 trading days since the start of 2026,” Ricafort said in a report.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) slipped 0.35 percent to 6,464.67, while the All Shares index dropped 0.23 percent to 3,652.33.
Three sectoral indices dragged the market lower, led by Services, which fell 1.74 percent, followed by Mining and Oil at 1.69 percent and Property at 0.65 percent.
On the upside, Financials rose 0.52 percent, Holding Firms gained 0.07 percent, and Industrial shares inched up 0.006 percent.
Market turnover totaled 1.83 billion shares valued at PHP 7.25 billion. Decliners outpaced advancers, 99 to 93, while 77 issues ended unchanged.
