THE PESO strengthened against the greenback on Friday as US stocks rebounded following sharp losses.

The local unit gained three centavos to close at P48.08 per dollar on Friday from its P48.11 finish the day prior, data from the Bankers Association of the Philippines showed.

Week on week, the peso ended a tad higher than its P48.085 close on Jan. 22.

The peso opened the session at P48.07 a dollar, which was also its strongest showing for the day. It moved within a narrow range, with its worst showing for the day logged at just P48.085 against the greenback.

Dollars traded declined to $685.7 million from $1.188 billion on Thursday.

The peso gained versus the dollar following US stocks rebound overnight, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.99% or 300.75 points on Thursday while the S&P 500 rose 0.97% or 36.49 points to 3,787 on Thursday, Reuters reported. The rally was on the back of optimism caused by the earnings season which toned down fears caused by hedge funds selling long positions to cover shorts.

The US House Financial Services and Senate Banking Committees said on Thursday that they will have hearings to discuss the “Reddit rally” that put a charge into GameStop and other volatile stocks that were touted in an online forum. — LWTN with Reuters

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