Stocks extend rally on buying spree

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - Local investors of the stock market extended their buying spree today despite the mixed performances of global equities, driving the market up further following Wednesday's rally.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index climbed by 0.51 percent or 32.19 points to 6,354.79, while the broader all-share index added 0.37 percent or 14.14 points to 3,832.40.

Trading volume reached 3.41 billion shares worth P7.75 billion ($173.60 million) with 90 stocks advancing, 68 declining, and 44 were unchanged.

Of the six counters, the financials, services, and the mining and oil sectors bucked the trend.

"Investors at the local market maintained their bullish stance, pushing the index to a second straight session of gains even as the momentum of the advance appears to have slackened just a bit," analyst Justino Calaycay of Accord Capital Equities Corp. said in his daily stock market comment.

While the index' performance is not its best so far, it nevertheless managed to post 5.2 percent gains for the month, doubling January's 2.6 percent gains.

"With only a day left in February trades, the market is still obviously in the hands of the bulls," Calaycay said.

He noted that the bullish sentiments seemed to prevail even if the global equities board flickered with mixed colors overnight with European and U.S. stocks going divergent directions.

The Dow posted marginal gains, while prices across the European continent slipped. Major indexes in Asia are likewise mixed in the morning session with the Nikkei sustaining losses while Chinese stocks show positive results.

Stocks in the 30-company index closed mixed. Among those picked up were Megaworld Corp., Ayala Corp., and Globe Telecom, Inc.