By Komfie Manalo
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) stayed in positive territory after Tuesday's trade as investors hunted for bargains in anticipation of the next policy rate announcement.
The PSEi gained 26.59 points to 6,299.05 while the broader All Shares also rose 33.32 points to 3,441.09.
"The local bourse extended its gains, increasing by 26.59 points (0.42%) to 6,299.05 as investors continued to hunt for bargain stocks," Philstock Financials, Inc. research associate Claire Alviar said.
"Investors were also anticipating the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) meeting this week for clues on the timeline of interest rate cuts," she said.
Most sectors were green, with Services leading the gainers, increasing by 2.25%.
Holdings and Industrials declined by 0.92% and 0.18%, respectively.
Advancers outpaced decliners at 93 to 92, while 52 shares were unchanged.
Meanwhile, the peso closed almost unchanged at 58.77, compared to the dollar, which finished at 58.80 on Monday.
It opened at 58.73 and traded between 58.70 and 58.777.
The day's weighted average was 58.741.
Total trade volume rose to $814.1 million from Monday's $559.25 million.
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