(UPDATE) Philippine stocks rally on positive developments overseas

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - The Philippine stock market ended up today.

The local barometer Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) gained 0.95 percent or 72.61 points to 7,689.91, while the broader all-share index rose by 0.86 percent or 38.12 points to 4,465.28.

A total of 2.62 billion shares worth P12.59 billion ($285.68 million) changed hands with 93 stocks advancing, 89 declining, and 52 remaining unchanged.

Of the six counters, only the mining and oil sector bucked the trend.

"A rise in Japan's latest industrial output numbers raised hopes the third largest economy may be emerging from its recession, " analyst Justino Calaycay of Accord Capital Equities Corp. said in his daily stock market comment.

Overnight, the Dow Jones industrial average index appears to have shaken off the webs of a two-session slide, jumping 225 points or 1.31 percent to 17,416.85, adding to the day's optimism.

The market eventually closed out the week and the month on a high note - yet another record, the sixth in 19 days, raising the prospects of breaching the 7,700-line next week.

For January, the index posted a whopping gain of 6.35 percent, which Calaycay said is its third best start in the last eight years and fifth since 2003. The biggest January return was registered in 2005 when it posted a 10.8 percent gain.

"Local investors have generally shrugged off the uncertainties that visited global markets - and economies. Reactions to massive drops in exchanges overseas have either been marginally negative or, at most time, positive," he said.

Stocks in the 30-company index were mostly up. These include SM Investments Corp., Ayala Corp., and the Bank of Philippine Islands.