Stocks bounce back on bargain hunting

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - The Philippine stock market bounced back today on bargain hunting.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index gained 0.91 percent or 63.07 points to 7,029.28, while the broader all-share index rose by 0.44 percent or 18.16 points to 4,150.56.

Trading volume reached 2.11 billion shares worth P10.90 billion ($243.79 million) with 121 stocks declining, 68 advancing, and 37 being unchanged.

Of the six counters, only the mining and oil sector bucked the trend.

"Wall Street's overnight rally buoyed sentiment in local equities, after the US Federal Reserves said it will not increase interest rates yet," online brokerage 2TradeAsia.com said in its daily stock market comment.

The Dow Jones industrial average index rallied by 1.69 percent or 288 points on Wednesday, boosting sentiments across equities in Asia.

The rally was brought about by the upbeat outlook of the US Fed on their economy, prompting them to announce that they are not to quick in removing policy stimulus.

The online brokerage, however, was quick to advise investors to steer clear for possible follow-through sell-off on the back of region-wide economic growth downgrade.

"Stay watchful for potential accumulation. Revisit stocks that were severely beaten during the recent rout," it said.

Stocks in the 30-company index closed mixed. Among those picked up were heavyweight Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., BDO Unibank, Inc., and Ayala Corp.