Index recovers on bargain hunting

MANILA, Philippines — The stock market recovered yesterday, gaining 77.55 points, or 0.93 percent, to close at 8,343.23 on bargain hunting, traders said.

The broader All Shares index was also up 36.99 points ,or 0.76 percent, to finish at 4,883.37

All sectoral indexes ended in the green led by the holding firms, services and property sectors.

Total value turnover, however, was thin at P4.410 billion. Advancing stocks outpaced decliners, 105 to 92 while 43 issues remain unchanged.

Traders said investors bought on bargains.

“US stocks took a breather. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.3 percent as investors took some profit ahead of Thanksgiving holiday. Despite a flat start on Wall St’s leads, however, momentum remained positive, hence local investors saw the dips as quick and shallow, and bought with the low trading volumes,” said Luis Limlingan of Regina Capital.

Limlingan said the the Dow Jones remained under pressure Wednesday afternoon after the US Fed minutes indicated that an interest rate hike is likely but the pace could be more moderate than expected given muted inflation.European stocks closed lower as investors digested corporate earnings news and the latest UK budget announcements.

The Fed viewed a “near-term” increase in interest rates as possible but central bank officials also expressed concerns about persistently low inflation, hinting that the bank may dial back its rate hikes in 2018, he said.