The bomb threat that sent jitters among Philippine stock market participants Thursday morning proved to be a hoax, traders and analysts said. The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) temporarily suspended trading during its mid morning session owing to a bomb threat. But police and private security agents found no explosive device at the PSE building in the financial district of Makati. Trading in the PSE resumed in the afternoon and ended 02:00 p.m. local time. The local bourse usually ends the daily trading session at noon. The PSE index finished 1.36 percent higher on Thursday. 'We are grateful to our trading participants and employees for taking time off from their lunch breaks to continue trading in the afternoon. Their collective efforts to support the market have been rewarded by this record index performance,' PSE President and Chief Executive Officer Val Antonio B. Suarez said in a statement. The PSE declined to comment further on the bomb threat. 