PSEi bounces back after Makati bombing incident

The Philippine Stock Exchange index promptly bounced back Thursday as bargain-hunting on selective blue chips diminished jitters caused by the recent bombing incident in Makati. "The gains [on Thursday] signified the continuation of technical rebound stalled due to the bombing incident in Makati," said Jose Vistan, senior manager of AB Capital Securities Inc.'s research department. The PSEi gained 58.85 points or 1.5 percent to finish at 3,990.49, according to the PSE's online market information as of 12:10 p.m. More than 1.087 billion shares worth P7.463 billion changed hands during Thursday's trading session. Advancers outpaced decliners 87 to 48, while 46 issues remained unchanged. Most Asian stock markets were mostly higher Thursday, but their gains were modest amid speculation that China may raise interest rates ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday next week. On Wall Street overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average briefly broke through 12,000 for the first time since June 2008. — JE/OMG, GMANews.TV