The Philippine stock market finally made a successful closing above the 6,100 level, ending at a new high on Friday.
The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index gained 1.10 percent or 67.03 points to 6,139.21, while the broader all-share index rose by 0.86 percent or 32.94 points to 3,862.41.
Trading volume reached 6.91 billion shares worth 9.33 billion pesos (229.91 million U.S. dollars) with 103 stocks advancing, 60 declining, and 48 were unchanged.
All six counters were up.
"Wall Street's overnight rally has encouraged local participants to continue re-positioning Friday," 2TradeAsia.com said.
The Dow Jones industrial average index rose by 0.63 percent or 84.79 points on Thursday. Other positive developments overseas include China's stronger-than-expected 7.8 percent economic growth last year.
The Philippine equities attempted to close above the 6,100 level for three consecutive sessions this week only to be capped by profit takers.
The supply pressure however remains evident on Friday with investors cashing in on their gains after rallying to as high as 6, 150.62.
Analyst Justino Calaycay of Accord Capital Equities Corp. said the market's failure to close above the 6,100 level during the past sessions have started raising concerns that the market may be close to overheating.
That is overheating, unless the fresh positive impetus surfaced, Calaycay added.
"The bullishness in equities is, in addition, a function of the historically low interest rates. Yields on alternative fixed- income instruments are depressed and at least up to this point, the prospects for returns on equity investments override the risks presented by valuation and technical concerns," Calaycay said.
2TradeAsia.com advises investors start accumulating for the year and to go with sectors with promising yields.
For the week, the local equities posted a weekly gain of 1.44 percent.
Stocks in the 30-company index were mostly up. Among those picked up were Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., SM Prime Holdings, Inc., and Ayala Corp.
