Manila: Bargain-hunting lifted the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) on Friday, but the Philippine peso weakened against the U.S. dollar partly on slower growth of the domestic economy in the second quarter this year. The local bourse's main index rose 0.20 percent to 6,290.35 points, and the broader All Shares rose by 0.15 percent to 3,418.40 points.

According to Philippines News Agency, most of the sectoral gauges also finished up, namely the Property, 0.99 percent; Mining and Oil, 0.98 percent; Holding Firms, 0.44 percent; and Services, 0.22 percent. On the other hand, Financials declined by 0.54 percent and the Industrial by 0.14 percent. Volume reached 605.7 million shares amounting to PHP6.22 billion. Decliners led advancers at 90 to 86 while 68 shares were unchanged.

Philstocks Research, in a market report, traced the jump of the PSEi to bargain-hunting as well as the positive corporate results of several publicly listed firms. It, however, noted that "other numbers show that market sentiment remains cautious."

With risks still up, the local currency finished the day weaker against the U.S. dollar at 60.9 compared to its 60.81 finish Thursday. It opened the day at 60.9, weaker than the 60.68 start in the previous session. It traded between 60.88 and 61.06, resulting in an average of 60.96. Volume reached USD1.8 billion, lower than the USD2.04 billion a day ago.

Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation chief economist Michael Ricafort attributed the peso's weakness in part to the slower output of the domestic economy in the second quarter to 2.3 percent from 2.8 percent in the previous quarter, the rise in crude oil prices in the international market, and the lower gross international reserves as of end-July 2026 to USD103.4 billion. He forecasts the local currency to trade between 60.80 to 61.00 to a U.S. dollar on Monday.