Manila: Local shares were boosted by bargain hunters on Tuesday, with the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) returning to the 6,000 mark, while the peso strengthened against the US dollar.

According to Philippines News Agency, the bellwether PSEi recovered by 3.15 percent to close the day at 6,006.34, and the broader All Shares gained by 2.46 percent to 3,582.80 points. Philstocks Financial research manager Japhet Tantiangco mentioned that the local bourse improved as investors hunted for bargains following the local market's three-day decline.

All indices closed in the positive territory, with the biggest gains coming from the Services sector, which increased by 5.51 percent to 1,916.38. This was followed by Financials, up by 4.04 percent to 2,370.54; Industrial, by 3.17 percent to 8,438.05; and Mining and Oil, by 1.80 percent to 8,714.54. Holding Firms was also up by 1.11 percent to 4,890.07; and Property, by 0.23 percent to 2,158.07.

'Hopes of a rate cut by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas in their upcoming meeting this week helped in the market's rise,' Tantiangco added. Value turnover for the day amounted to PHP5.73 billion, higher than the year-to-date average of PHP5.4 billion. Winners led losers at 127 to 75, while 60 counters left unchanged.

Meanwhile, the Philippine peso closed stronger, gaining PHP0.12 to the greenback to 57.31, from its 57.43 close on Monday. It opened the day's trade weaker at 57.35 from the previous day's kick-off of 57.10. The currency pair traded between 57.15 and 57.38, bringing the day's average to 57.26. Trade volume declined to USD1.97 billion from USD2.17 billion on Monday.