Manila: Reports about the 1 percent cut in the tariff to be imposed by the United States on Philippine exports, following the meeting of US and Philippine officials, lifted both the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) and the peso on Wednesday.

According to Philippines News Agency, the local bourse's main gauge rose 1.68 percent to 6,462.25 points, and All Shares by 1.33 percent to 3,807.35 points. All the sectoral indices also went up during the day, led by Services, which surged 5.84 percent. It was followed by Mining and Oil, 2.08 percent; Holding Firms, 1.34 percent; Financials, 0.48 percent; Industrial, 0.44 percent; and Property, 0.36 percent.

Volume reached 1.94 billion shares, amounting to PHP10.18 billion. Advancers led decliners at 128 to 71 while 49 shares were unchanged. Luis Limlingan, Regina Capital Development Corp. head of sales, also traced the positive sentiments in the local bourse during the day to the remarks of Finance Secretary Ralph Recto, who indicated the possibility of two additional rate cuts from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) this year as inflation continued to ease.

The positive sentiments also buoyed the local currency, which allowed the peso to improve to the 56-level and close at 56.88 from 57.05 on Tuesday. It even opened the day at 56.85 from its 57.03 start in the previous session, trading between 56.85 and 56.98. The day's average was 56.92. Volume reached USD1.51 billion, up from the previous day's USD1.29 billion.