Stocks, peso up on first trading day in August

August 1, 2018

Philippine stocks gained on Wednesday, the first trading day of August.

The peso closed at P53.08 against the US dollar from Tuesday's P53.095. Volume amounted to $642.13 million from $670.81 million.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index soared to 7,838.22 points, up 166.22. In the broader market, there were 120 gainers, 74 decliners and 46 shares unchanged.

Volume reached 966.4 million shares worth P7.18 billion from Tuesday's 842.02 million valued at P7.05 billion. Foreigners were net buyers, with P3.91 billion worth of stocks bought while P3.58 billion were sold.

Most active shares were led by PXP Energy Corp., up 39.02 percent to P14.18 on news that a draft framework for joint exploration with China in the West Philippine Sea may be out in September. The others were Ayala Land, up 1.1 percent to P41.95 and SM Investment Corp., up 4.21 percent to P990. DMS