Roundup: Philippine bourse closes up as U.S. Federal Reserve maintains interest rates

The Philippine stock market posted its 27th record and the first ever close above the 8,100 mark on Friday.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index rose by 0.93 percent or 74.79 points to 8,127.48, while the broader all-share index added 0.55 percent or 25.28 points to 4,635.38.

Trading volume reached two billion shares worth 12.87 billion Philippine pesos (289.2 million U.S. dollars) with 98 stocks advancing, 88 declining, and 51 unchanged.

"The market's recent move suggests that the risks have dissipated back into the background," analyst Justino Calaycay of Accord Capital Equities Corp. said in his daily stock market comment.

Calaycay said it all started when the U.S. Federal Reserves announced that it was in no hurry to raise rates, while Greece is closing in on a deal with its investors.

"The Fed's commitment to keep rate adjustments slow has stirred some optimism tempered intermittently however by concerns over the timing -- or when such adjustments will begin," Calaycay said.

The analyst however warns that everyone is in agreement that a correction is bound to happen.

Overseas, U.S. stocks rose from negative territory to close Thursday trades with gains, pushed by rallies in the energy and healthcare sectors.

The Dow Jones industrial average index's 56-point gain pushed concerns over the strength of earnings to the sidelines, at least for the moment.

Stocks in the 30-company index were mostly up. These were SM Investments Corp., heavyweight Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., and Ayala Corp. Endi