Philippines share prices closed 0.5 percent higher on Monday due to buying in selected blue chips, dealers said. The composite index rose 8.48 points to 1,833.57, while the all-shares index gained 0.2 percent to 1,197.14. There were 38 gainers, 25 losers and 41 unchanged. Volume totalled 420.3 million shares worth 834.8 million pesos (17.5 million dollars).
The local currency traded at 47.598 to the dollar. "Investors are buying selectively, picking stocks which continue to show signs of growth," Ricardo Puig of ATR-Kim Eng Securities told Dow Jones Newswires. Philippine Long-Distance Telephone Co gained 0.96 percent to 2,100 pesos. Manila Electric Co gained 0.8 percent to 60 pesos. San Miguel Corp saw its A shares remain unchanged at 40 pesos while its B shares remained at 41.50 pesos.