Stocks sustain gains, peso weakens

Manila: Local shares continued to be boosted by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' (BSP) move to cut banks' reserve requirement ratio (RRR), while the peso returned to the 56-to-a-dollar level. The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) gained 14.96 points to close at 7,432.21 while the broader All Shares also rose 5.48 points to 3,963.50. "Local shares rose on Tuesday, supported by the BSP's reserve requirement cut and China's new stimulus measures," Regina Capital Development Corporation managing director Luis Limlingan said. Except for Holding Firms and Services, all sectors closed in the green, led by Property which went up by 0.95 percent. Advancers led decliners at 102 to 100, leaving 57 counters unchanged. The peso, meanwhile, continued to depreciate, closing at 56.245 to a dollar on Tuesday from previous day's 55.97 closing. It opened at 56.05 and traded between 55.97 to 56.33, bringing the day's average to 56.107. Volume of trade went up to USD1.8 billion from USD1.3 billion. Source: Philippin es News Agency