MANILA – Philippine stocks experienced a significant rebound on Wednesday, while the local currency, the peso, remained relatively stable. The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) climbed 1.33 percent to close at 6,144.96 points, with the broader All Shares index rising by 0.77 percent to 3,668.41 points.

The surge was attributed to positive signals indicating strengthened foreign relations between the Philippines and the United States. Notably, the Trump administration's decision to exempt the Philippines from its foreign aid freeze boosted investor confidence.

"Philippine shares gained some momentum, finishing just short of the 6200 marker as signs continued to show that the country strengthened foreign relations with the United States," said Luis Limlingan, head of sales at Regina Capital Development Corp. "News that the Trump administration exempted the Philippines from its freeze on foreign aid was taken as a positive while other regional markets continued to trade on choppy territory."

Among sectoral indices, Financial stocks led the gains, rising by 1.57 percent, followed by Property (1.45 percent), Industrial (1.29 percent), Holding Firms (1.22 percent), and Services (0.33 percent). The Mining and Oil sector was the only one to close in the red, declining by 1.51 percent.

Market breadth was positive, with 93 stocks advancing and 85 declining, while 60 remained unchanged.

Meanwhile, the Philippine peso closed almost unchanged at 57.88 to the US dollar, compared to its previous close of 57.93. The peso traded within a narrow range of 57.86 to 57.92, averaging 57.88. Trading volume decreased to USD1.09 billion from the previous day's USD1.38 billion.

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