Bargain hunting, dollar inflows buoy shares

MANILA  -The Philippine benchmark index (PSEi) climbed over 1 percent on Tuesday on bargain hunting and robust growth in overseas remittances in August, which supports domestic consumer spending.

By the closing bell, the PSEi rose 1.32 percent, or 82.07 points, to 6,280.90 while the broader All Shares index was up 0.94 percent, or 31.48 points, to 3,391.38.

“The index rose on the back of bargain hunting and better risk sentiment. The index tracked most Asian markets higher as the US earnings season started on a positive note and China injected fresh liquidity into the financial system,” said Juan Paolo Colet, managing director at investment bank China Bank Capital Corp. Data from the stock exchange showed a total of 1.25 billion shares valued at P5.7 billion changing hands while net foreign buying amounted to P276.42 million.

BDO Unibank Inc. was the top traded stock as it rose 0.07 percent to P135.30 per share.

Overall, there were 110 advancers against 78 losers while 45 companies closed unchanged.