Bargain-hunting drives PSE index back to 8,100

The local stock barometer bounced back to the 8,100 level on Thursday as the recent pullback emboldened institutional investors to scout for bargains among large-cap stocks.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) recouped 215.38 points or 2.72 percent to close at 8,124.45.

Bargain-hunters emerged after the PSEi fell below the support level of 8,000 on Wednesday. The PSEi bottomed out in the previous session at 7,909.07.

Joseph Roxas, president of Eagle Equities, said institutional investors seemed to be back in play, buying blue chip stocks as recent price declines had made them more attractive.

Local stocks also rebounded ahead of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) decision to keep interest rates steady, as expected by market consensus.

On the other hand, the US Federal Reserve raised its targeted rates by 25 basis points.

The PSEi was led higher by the property counter, which rose by 4.3 percent, while holding firms and mining/oil counter likewise added over 2 percent.

The financial, industrial and services counters also gained over 1 percent.

Value turnover for the day stood at P8.37 billion.

There were 122 advancers that edged out 75 decliners while 47 stocks were unchanged.

Investors picked up shares of blue chips Ayala Land and SM Investments, which both rose by over 5 percent, while SM Prime, PLDT and Aboitiz Power all gained over 4 percent.