Philippine stocks rally to new high

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - The Philippine stock market closed at a new high today and breached a crucial resistance level as investors cheered developments overseas.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index jumped by 1.79 percent or 132.62 points, bringing it to the 7,500 level, its fifth and most successful attempt to close at the said level. By the final bell, the index closed at the 7,548.93, representing a 0. 76 percent gain week-on-week.

Meanwhile, the broader all-share index rose by 1.55 percent or 67.18 points to 4,403.42.

Trading volume reached 3.41 billion shares worth P7.44 billion ($168.63 million) with 105 stocks advancing, 67 declining, and 45 were unchanged.

Online brokerage 2TradeAsia.com attributed Friday's resumption of buying to the huge gain of the Dow Jones as well as the announcement of the European Central Bank (ECB) of its own version of quantitative easing.

The ECB on Thursday announced that it was injecting as much as 69 billion euros a month in asset purchase plan to avert deflation and pump prime the ailing economy. The move is seen to keep low interest rates at bay.

Equities globally reacted to the news positively with the Dow Jones industrial average index adding as much as 259 points overnight.

Meanwhile, the online brokerage warned investors to anticipate more volatility in the mining and oil sector, especially with the gold futures' recent run-up.

"Hunt for entry windows in holding firms, services, mining and property," it said.  

Stocks in the 30-company index were mostly up. Among the most actively traded issues were Lopez-backed companies such as First Gen Corp., which posted a 6.02 percent gain, and Energy Development Corp.