Manila: Bargain hunting lifted the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) on Monday, even as the Philippine peso weakened against the U.S. dollar. After ending last week in negative territory, the local bourse's main index opened the new trading week on a positive note, rising 0.43 percent to 5,986.85 points. The broader All Shares index also gained 0.45 percent to 3,388.43 points.

According to Philippines News Agency, most sectoral indices advanced during the session, led by Property, which surged 1.89 percent. It was followed by Services, up 0.85 percent; Industrial, 0.42 percent; and Financials, 0.04 percent. Meanwhile, Mining and Oil declined by 1.81 percent, while Holding Firms slipped by 0.67 percent. Volume reached 1.28 billion shares amounting to PHP5.43 billion. Decliners led advancers, 100 to 91, while 73 shares were unchanged.

'The local market rose as investors hunted for bargains from last Friday's losses. Despite the rise however, the market was unable to take the 6,000 resistance level,' Philstocks Financial Inc. said in a market report. On the other hand, the local currency depreciated against the greenback after closing the day at 61.15 from its 60.61 finished Friday last week. It opened the day unchanged at 60.65, and traded between 60.58 and 61.15. Average for the day stood at 60.07. Volume reached USD1.51 billion, down from its USD1.91 billion in the previous session.