Manila: Bargain hunting continued at the Philippine Stock Exchange on Friday, leading to the second consecutive day of gains for the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi), while the peso remained stable.

According to Philippines News Agency, the main stock index climbed by 0.69 percent to 6,149.13 points, and the All Shares index increased by 0.40 percent to 3,692.71 points. Most sectoral indices ended the week with gains, with the Services sector leading the way after a 1.51 percent rise. This was followed by Mining and Oil at 1.23 percent, Holding Firms at 0.92 percent, Property at 0.70 percent, and Industrial at 0.10 percent. The Financials sector was the only one to decline, dropping by 0.07 percent.

Luis Limlingan, head of sales at Regina Capital Development Corporation, attributed the PSEi's continued upward trend to "buying pressure as investors continue to take advantage of relatively attractive prices." He also noted that the latest inflation report was well-received, as it fell within the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' (BSP) target range, boosting investor sentiment.

The Philippine Statistics Authority reported an increase in the domestic inflation rate last August to 1.5 percent from a record low of 0.9 percent in the previous month, driven by weather-related food price increases during the rainy season. The BSP had earlier projected the August inflation rate to range between 1 and 1.8 percent. The average inflation to date stood at 1.7 percent, still below the central bank's 2-3 percent forecast for the year.

The Philippine peso also ended the week positively, trading sideways against the US dollar at 56.91, slightly improving from 56.98 the previous day. It began the day at 56.95 and fluctuated between 56.82 and 57.04, with an average of 56.93. The trading volume reached USD1.62 billion, up from the previous day's USD1.46 billion.