Manila: Bargain-hunting reversed the decline of the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) on Tuesday, and the peso finished the trade almost flat after several days of appreciation. The local bourse's main index rose 0.09 percent to 5,994.40 points, but the broader All Shares went down 1.93 percent to 3,475.50 points.

According to Philippines News Agency, most of the sectoral gauges also finished in the negative territory, namely Mining and Oil, 1.44 percent; Financials, 0.96 percent; Holding Firms, 0.52 percent; and Industrial, 0.02 percent. On the other hand, Services rose by 1.95 percent and Property by 0.02 percent. Volume reached 1.13 billion shares, amounting to PHP5.5 billion. Advancers surpassed decliners at 97 to 95, while 59 shares were unchanged.

The local market's sideways movement ended in the positive territory as investors hunted for bargains. Expectations of a tempered inflation last November and a Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) policy rate cut this December fueled positive sentiment, Philstocks Financials Inc. said in a market report. On the other hand, the local currency ended the day at 58.52 against the US dollar, almost unchanged from its 58.49 close Monday. It opened the day on a better level at 58.49, from the previous session's 58.63. It strengthened to as much as 58.33 but also slipped to 58.54, bringing the day's average to 58.43. Volume reached USD1.49 billion, up from Monday's USD1.22 billion.