Philippines shares closed 1.68 percent higher on Wednesday as investors snapped up bargains following a two-day decline, dealers said. However, the thin turnover suggests many investors opted to stay on the sidelines until the US Federal Reserve concludes its two-day policy meeting later in the day, they said.
The composite index was up 51.09 points at the day's high of 3,090.47, off a low of 3,039.38. The broader all-share index rose 26.39 points at 1,997.53.
Gainers beat losers 90 to 23, with 50 stocks unchanged. Turnover was 8.3 billion shares worth 2.4 billion pesos (50.8 million dollars.)
The peso traded at 48.44 to the dollar.
"After the previous week's slump and the fall early this week, investors saw some positions for bargain-hunting, so it's a mixed bag of blue chips and penny stocks," said Lawrence de Leon of Accord Capital Equities Inc.
He said investors were still cautious but were more convinced that the market is starting to stabilise after weeks of volatile trading. Top-traded Philippine Long Distance Telephone tracked overnight gains in its New York-listed shares, rising 95 pesos to 2,390 pesos.
Rival Globe Telecom advanced five pesos to 1,300 pesos. Property developer Megaworld Corp rose 10 centavos to 3.00 pesos. Power distributor Manila Electric Co's A-shares, exclusive to Filipino investors, gained one peso to 69 pesos while its B-shares, open to foreigners, rose 1.50 pesos to 70 pesos. Food and beverage giant San Miguel Corp's A-shares were steady at 63.50 pesos while its B-shares inched up 50 centavos to 72.50 pesos.