Manila: Bargain-hunting further lifted the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) Monday but the peso ended the week's first trading day almost unchanged against the US dollar. The local bourse's main index rose 2.03 percent to 6,041.26 points, and the broader All Shares by 1.43 percent to 3,446.30 points. All sectoral indices finished in positive territory, led by Services which advanced 3.13 percent. Mining and Oil followed with a 3.09 percent gain; Financials, 2.61 percent; Property, 1.32 percent; Industrial, 1.14 percent, and Holding Firms edged up 0.41 percent.
According to Philippines News Agency, the volume on the stock market reached 7.16 billion shares amounting to PHP8.28 billion. Advancers led decliners at 130 to 69, while 57 shares were unchanged. Luis Limlingan, Regina Capital Development Corporation head of sales, stated, "Trading remained relatively cautious, but the index finished higher with the peso seen holding at around PHP58 against the (US) dollar ahead of the holidays."
Meanwhile, the local currency ended the day at 58.73 against the greenback, little changed from its 58.7 close last Friday. It opened the day weaker at 58.7 from the previous day's 58.6, and traded between 58.75 and 58.63. The average level for the day stood at 58.68. The trading volume was lower at USD869.5 million compared to the previous session's USD1.38 billion.
