Manila: Bargain-hunting further lifted the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) Tuesday but the peso ended sideways against the US dollar. The local bourse's main index rose 2.49 percent to 6,317.91 points, the broader All Shares by 0.97 percent to 3,588.35 points. All the sectoral gauges also finished the day with gains, led by the Services after it expanded by 4.02 percent, trailed by the Industrial, 2.55 percent; Financials, 2.14 percent; Holding Firms, 1.85 percent; Mining and Oil, 1.74 percent; and Property, 0.28 percent. Volume reached 1.34 billion shares amounting to PHP8.3 billion. Advancers led decliners at 141 to 72, while 50 shares were unchanged.

According to Philippines News Agency, the local market rallied further as investors continue to hunt for bargains with optimism fueled by the Philippines' December inflation print, which remained under control. The Philippine Statistics Authority reported an uptick in the rate of price increases from 1.5 percent in November to 1.8 in December 2025, bringing the year's average rate at 1.7 percent, below the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' (BSP) 2-4 percent target band. 'The subdued inflation print gives the BSP room to ease monetary policy further if needed,' the market report added.

On the other hand, the local currency ended the day at 59.21 against the greenback, sideways from its 59.13 close a day ago. It opened the day weaker at 59.07 from day-ago's 58.88, and traded between 59.21 and 59.07. Average for the day stood at 59.15. Volume reached USD1.39 billion, higher than the USD929 million in the previous session.