Sharp gains in the regional markets following Wall Street’s strong lead overnight also helped.
The Philippine Stock Exchange composite index rose 28.26 points at 2,138.05 after trading between 2,109.79 and 2,144.04. Volume was 447 million shares worth P1.15 billion.
The index, which advanced 15 percent last year, is at its highest close since March 9, 2005.
The broader all-shares index rose 17.51 points to 1,011.75.
Gainers beat losers 68 to nine, with 38 stocks unchanged.
"This rise is really buoyed by investors’ vote of confidence in the economy, with the strong peso as an indicator, and expectations of credit rating upgrades for the country," said Rommel Macapagal of Westlink Global Equities.
"The general expectation is that 2006 will be a good year," said Mark Alan Canizares of Citiseconline.com.
"Investor optimism is being anchored on full implementation of the new value-added tax (VAT) law come February, which they hope will bring about a fiscally-stronger National Government," he added.
PLDT was the most actively traded stock, rising P30 to P1,845 following the announcement that NTT DoCoMo intends to invest $300 million into the company.
Rival Globe Telecom Inc gained P5 to P745.
San Miguel Corp. A shares, limited to local investors, ended steady at P65. San Miguel Corp. B shares, available to local and foreign investors, also closed unchanged at P89.50.
"The US is a key market for Philippine goods and services,’’ said James Lago, head of research at Westlink Global Equities. "The Fed meeting’s minutes ease the pressure for interest rate increases and that is good for economies that depend on the US.’’
US shares had their biggest rally in two months yesterday after the Fed released minutes of a December meeting that stated the number of additional increases needed to restrain inflation "probably would not be large." A stable economy in the US, the biggest buyer of Philippine goods, may help spur growth in the Southeast Asian nation.
Ayala Land, the nation’s largest property developer, rose 25 centavos, or 2.5 percent, to P10.25, its highest since July 13, 1999. Ayala Corp., which owns the nation’s second- biggest lender by assets and second-largest mobile phone company, added P5, or 1.6 percent, to P322.50, a three-week high.
Pilipino Telephone Corp., a unit of Philippine Long Distance and the nation’s third-biggest mobile phone company, rose 10 centavos, or 2.9 percent, to P3.60, its highest in almost four weeks.– AFP