Manila: Bargain-hunting buoyed the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) for the second consecutive session Thursday, while the peso continued to maintain its position against the US dollar. The main index rose 0.23 percent to 6,039.76 points, and the All Shares increased by 0.13 percent to 3,659.29 points.

According to Philippines News Agency, most of the sector counters also experienced gains during the day, led by the Mining and Oil sector, which surged by 2.20 percent. This was followed by Holding Firms with a 1.26 percent rise, Financials at 0.44 percent, Industrial at 0.12 percent, and Services at 0.02 percent. However, the Property sector was the only one to finish in the red, declining by 1.20 percent.

Volume for the day reached 1.52 billion, amounting to PHP5.56 billion. Luis Limlingan, head of sales at Regina Capital Development Corporation, noted, “The PSEi closed slightly higher but remained relatively flat in today’s session, as the lack of catalysts continues to weigh on market momentum. Investors are taking advantage of the relatively affordable stock prices, which has allowed buying pressure to prevail over the past two trading days.”

On the currency front, the local currency ended the day’s trade with minimal change against the US dollar, closing at 58.08 compared to its 58.12 close on Wednesday. It opened the trade strong at 58.05 from the previous day’s 58.4 and traded between 58.3 and 58.007, with the average for the day standing at 58.14. The volume amounted to USD1.16 billion, which was lower than the previous day’s USD1.72 billion.