Peso recovers, stocks up despite Metrobank

July 21, 2017

The peso gained 17 centavos against the dollar on Friday in a week where it moved towards P51 to the US dollar. The peso finished at P51.71 from Thursday's P50.88. Volume at the Philippine Dealing System reached $468.16 million from the previous day's $557.3 million. The Philippine Stock Exchange index ended 85.39 percent higher to 7, 989.73 despite the revelation of a P900 million internal fraud by Metrobank. The suspect has been arrested, the National Bureau of Investigation said in a televised news conference. Metrobank shares closed 4.6 percent lower to P86.90 while its parent firm, GT Capital ended 2.85 percent down at P1,195. The broader market, however, was lower. There were 121 decliners, 82 gainers and 53 unchanged. DMS