Stocks ended with very slight gains Wednesday as the Philippine Stock Exchange index closed 7.96 points higher to finish at 7,253.79 points.

But the broader market was negative as there were 133 decliners and 59 gainers while 52 were unchanged

Volume rose from Tuesday’s 1.71 billion shares valued at P7.05 billion to 1.8 billion shares worth P8.27 billion.

Foreign selling reached P5.25 billion while foreign buying was at P4.47 billion,

Mining issues continued to weigh the market despite the bypass of the Commission on Appointments on the confirmation of Gina Lopez as environment secretary and a decision by the US Federal Reserve if they will raise rates.

The peso finished two centavos higher at P50.34 against the US dollar. Volume at the Philippine Dealing System rose from Tuesday’s $314.2 million to $ 394.8 million. DMS