Local shares climbed by 19.67 points to 6,148.31 on Wednesday, 0.32 percent higher amid last-minute bargain hunting for two straight days.

In addition, the strong remittances from Filipinos working abroad brought optimism to the local bourse and cheered the market. On Monday, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas released August data on cash remittances rising to $2.72 billion, up from $2.61 billion a year ago. Meanwhile, cash remittances jumped by 4.4 percent to $3.02 billion year-on-year.

In a text message, Philstocks Financial Inc. assistant manager for research and online engagement Claire Alviar pointed out that the market was mainly in the red yesterday due to a lack of catalysts.

"The bargain hunters saved the bourse. However, staying above the 6,000 level will continue to be tested amid weak conviction, with a net market value turnover of P3.35 billion," she said.

On Wednesday, net foreign buying of P119.99 million also helped lift the market.

Sectors were mixed, with Services posting the biggest gain of 1.50 percent — driven by the gains of PLDT Inc. and Globe Telecom Inc.

On the other hand, properties were at the bottom after they lost 0.54 percent. JG Summit Holdings Inc. lost the most by 2.95 percent to P44.45 among index members.

Michael Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., commented on the solid remittances, "OFW (Overseas Filipino Worker) cash remittances in August grew by 4.29 percent year-on-year, and this boosted market sentiment as higher remittances may help the peso recover against the US dollar."