Stock index returns to 6,500 level

Philippine stocks climbed Thursday, sending the benchmark index above the 6,500 level as investors bet that interest rates will start going down next year.

The 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange index advanced by 56.31 points, or 0.87 percent, to close at 6,519.11, while the broader all-share index went up 24.70 points, or 0.72 percent, to settle at 3,440.59.

“The index returned above the 6,500 level on thin trading as investor sentiment remained positive about the local market’s prospects for 2024,” China Bank Capital managing director Juan Paolo Colet said.

“We saw the same optimism across most Asian markets on the back of growing bets on the dovish direction of interest rates next year,” Colet said.