Manila: The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) sustained its rally for the third consecutive trading day on Friday, while the local currency corrected anew and closed weaker against the US dollar. The local bourse's main index ended the week up by 0.90 percent to 6,465.12 points, and the broader All Shares by 0.66 percent to 3,570.68 points.

According to Philippines News Agency, all the sectoral indices also gained during the day, led by Financials after it inched up by 1.68 percent. It was trailed by Mining and Oil, 1.11 percent; Services, 0.89 percent; Industrial, 0.44 percent; Property, 0.42 percent; and Holding Firms, 0.26 percent. Volume reached 872.48 million shares amounting to PHP5.58 billion. Advancers led decliners at 107 to 93, while 64 shares were unchanged.

Luis Limlingan, Regina Capital Development Corporation head of sales, mentioned that the PSEi ended higher as bargain hunters resumed to take advantage of attractive valuations following recent declines. Investors continued to assess the impact of the latest rate cut from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, weighing its potential to support liquidity and market sentiment. The fresh 25 basis points rate cut 'helped improve risk appetite at the margins despite lingering concerns over subdued growth forecasts, allowing the benchmark to finish in positive territory,' Limlingan added.

On the other hand, the local currency shed anew against the US dollar and closed the day at 58.15 to a greenback from its 57.99 close a day ago. The peso opened the day at 58.05, weaker than its 57.88 start in the previous session. It traded between 58.15 and 58.05, bringing the day's average to 58.13. Volume reached USD1.37 billion, lower than the USD1.61 billion a day ago.