(UPDATE) Stocks up despite overseas, domestic negative factors

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - The Philippine stock market skyrocketed today despite the 69-point drop of the Dow Jones industrial average index last Friday.

The bellwether Philippine stock exchange index jumped by 1.51 percent or 104.14 points to 6,998.37, while the broader all-share index rose by 1.28 percent or 52.77 points to 4,176.46.

Trading volume reached 2.30 billion shares worth P10.52 billion ($241.13 million) with 122 stocks advancing, 55 declining, and 46 were unchanged.

Stocks in the 30-company index were mostly up.

"We saw some encouraging action last Friday with the index closing out trades at its peak after traversing practically the entire 6,800 to 6,900 spread," analyst Justino Calaycay of Accord Capital Equities Corp. said in his daily stock market comment.

The analyst said Friday's performance came out as a surprise as the market's rally came amidst a backdrop of slumping hike in local interest rates, which are generally perceived as something negative.

"It is a surprise that investors welcomed the local central bank's move," Calaycay said.

Overseas, the Dow Jones industrial average index slipped by 0. 42 percent or 69.93 points. Nevertheless, investors cheered European government's move to rescue Banco Espirito Santos, Portuguese's largest listed bank.

Calaycay said now that most of the news have been out in the open, investors will likely look forward to the government's inflation report this week as well as the release of corporate earnings.

Stocks in the 30-company index were mostly up. These include heavyweight Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., SM Investments Corp., and Alliance Global Group, Inc.