The peso touched the 50 against the US dollar during intraday trading for the second straight trading day but the currency closed a bit stronger at the Philippine Dealing System.

The peso closed at P49.995 from Tuesday’s P49.999 as volume rose from $363.80 million on Tuesday to $421 million.

Stocks ended with slight gains as the Philippine Stock Exchange Index finished 27.70 points higher to 6,686.36. In the broader market, advances led declines 109-49 with 48 issues remaining unchanged.

Foreign selling of shares reached P3.45 billion compared foreign buying worth P2.69 billion. DMS