Phl stocks rally on continued bargain hunting

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - The Philippine stock market today rallied back to the 6,700 level on continued bargain hunting.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index gained 1.41 percent or 92.94 points to 6,701.95, while the broader all-share index added 1.19 percent or 48.80 points to 4,148.41.

Trading volume reached 1.34 billion shares worth P9.55 billion ($226.17 million) with 115 stocks advancing, 36 declining, and 38 were unchanged.

"The composite index advanced for the second time, continuing its bounce from the recent weakness as some investors come in to catch several sold-off issues," DBP-Daiwa Securities, Inc. said.

2TradeAsia.com said Thursday's "recovery rally" piqued investors' interest, many of whom felt that the recent sell-off had made many stocks bargained issues.

The online brokerage said assurances from top authorities that the Philippines' fundamentals remain intact prompted several fund managers to seize this attractive buying opportunity to reposition.

For the week, the local index suffered a huge loss of 4.55 percent.

Stocks in the 30-company index were mostly up. These issues include SM Investments Corp., Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co., and heavyweight Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co.