Philippine bourse hits new high

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - The Philippine stock market rallied to a new all-time high today, pushing a year-to-date gain of almost 10 percent.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) gained 0. 28 percent or 21.94 points to 7,825.39, while the broader all- share index rose 0.14 percent or 6.30 points to 4,537.06.

Trading volume reached 4.11 billion shares worth P6.88 billion ($155.60 million) with 90 stocks advancing, 83 declining and 51 unchanged.

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

Today's record close is the 14th high for the PSEi since the start of the year.

"Trading activity may be muted because of the Lunar New Year break in other countries but it has obviously not kept the index from gaining. We are pleased that alongside the record highs, we have seen the market's daily average turnover almost double to P11.70 billion ($264.58 million) from the same period last year," PSE President and CEO Hans B. Sicat said.

Friday's gain pushed the PSEi with a 8.2-percent year-to-date gain

2TradeAsia.com said volatility will be more prevalent in currencies, given the ongoing saga in Greece's adherence to its earlier debt pact.

Analyst Justino Calaycay of Accord Capital Equities Corp. however advises investors to be cautious as the market is now moving into an uncharted territory.

Stocks in the 30-company index were mostly up, including Ayala Land, Inc., Ayala Corp. and SM Investments Corp.