Philippines share prices closed 1.8 percent higher on Monday on bargain hunting after a long Easter break, but trading was light as worries over the US economy remained, dealers said. The composite index rose 49.92 points to 2,867.50, off a high of 2,885.35.
The all-share index gained 23.47 points or 1.4 percent to 1,759.17. There were 56 advancers, 27 decliners and 48 were steady. A total of 738.1 million shares worth 2.2 billion pesos (52.8 million dollars) changed hands.
The peso traded at 41.63 to the dollar. The market caught up with gains on Wall Street last Thursday when the Dow Jones industrial average jumped 2.2 percent before traders took a break on Good Friday. Philippine markets were closed on both Thursday and Friday for the Easter holidays.
"But investors remain uneasy ahead of a slew of US economic data coming out this week. They are still uncomfortable getting back into the market after recent selloffs triggered by a worsening credit crisis in the US," said Ron Rodrigo at DBP-Daiwa Securities.
Investors will be keeping an eye on US housing and consumer confidence data due out this week, they said. Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co, the country's biggest company by market value, rose 35 pesos to 2,670.
Property developer Megaworld Corp advanced 12 centavos to 2.26 pesos, following a recent selloff. Food and drinks conglomerate San Miguel Corp's A-shares, reserved for Filipinos, were steady at 40.50 pesos. Its B-shares, which have no ownership restriction, rose 1 peso to 42.