Roundup: Philippine bourse closes higher on positive economy prospect

The Philippine stock market posted another gain on Wednesday following the statement of U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen that any rate hike will be done on a " meeting-by-meeting" basis.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index rose by 0.12 percent or 9.20 points to 7,844.06, while the broader all-share index slipped by 0.03 percent or 1.23 points to 4,546.02.

Trading volume reached 3.80 billion shares worth 17.23 billion Philippine pesos (388.82 million U.S. dollars) with 77 stocks advancing, 97 declining, and 45 were unchanged.

Of the six counters, the financials, industrial, and the holding firm sectors bucked the trend. "Sentiment glided with Yellen's statements that the US central bank would be more patient in raising interest rates," online brokerage 2TradeAsia.com said in its daily stock market comment.

Locally, part of the boost also stemmed from the local central bank's optimism on the local economy despite the volatility in global markets.

The online brokerage however advises investors to check for significant improvement in momentum gauges.

"Lock-on gains on rallies and reposition on weaknesses to optimize on trading gains," it said.

Stocks in the 30-company index closed mixed. Among those picked up were heavyweight Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., SM Prime Holdings, Inc., and Megaworld Corp. Endi