Philippines share prices closed 1.91 percent higher on Friday as investors chased bargains for a second straight day, inspired by Wall Street's rally and the government's improved fiscal outlook, dealers said.
They said it was positive that after a volatile week, the market had recovered much of the ground lost on concerns about the prospects of higher US interest rates and lower growth. The composite index rose 39.67 points to 2,121.47, after trading between 2,081.80 and 2,153.11. Volume was 1.35 billion shares worth 1.32 billion pesos (24.90 million dollars). The broader all-shares index rose 18.00 points to 1,343.26. Gainers led losers 72 to 22, with 35 stocks unchanged.
The peso was at 53.04 to the dollar by midday. Telecom stocks led the market higher on a technical rebound following recent steep losses. Philippine Long Distance Telephone advanced 35 pesos to 1,805 while Globe Telecom gained 50 pesos to 930. Ayala Land rose 25 centavos to 11.75 pesos while parent Ayala Corp shed early gains to close flat at 350 pesos. San Miguel Corp A shares rose 50 centavos to 64.50 pesos while its B shares fell 50 centavos to 71 pesos.