MANILA, Philippines ? (UPDATE) Local stocks inched up closer to the year's high on Thursday, consolidating recent gains alongside an upbeat trading in Wall Street and some favorable domestic economic data.

Sustaining an uphill climb, the main-share Philippine Stock Exchange composite index gained a modest 5.93 points or 0.19 percent to close at 3,125.56.

Trading on holding firms, property and mining/oil remained buoyant while the financial, industrial and services counters started to succumb to some profit-taking.

The modest rise was fueled by the gains eked out by First Philippine Holdings Corp., Ayala Corp., DMCI Holdings Inc. and Universal Robina Corp., which in turn tempered the profit-taking on First Gen Corp., SM Investments Corp., Metro Pacific Investments Corp., Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. and International Container Terminal Services Inc.

On the other hand, the share prices of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., Aboitiz Power Corp., Alliance Global Group Inc. and SM Prime Holdings Inc. were unchanged.

Despite the net index gain, the 30 advancers were overwhelmed by 57 decliners and 77 unchanged stocks. Value turnover at the market stood at about P2.9 billion.

Investors held on to PLDT shares, which accounted for 17 percent of total trades, ahead of this Friday's ex-dividend date or the record date when the investor must be on the company's books as a shareholder to receive dividends.

The PSEi is now nearing the year's high of 3,133 last hit in mid-January. After breaking out of 3,100 this week, the next key barrier is seen at 3,130.

Investors continue to draw optimism from a favorable sentiment in Wall Street as US stocks cheered a drop in wholesale inventories and improvement in corporate bond markets as another signal that the economic recovery is taking deeper roots.

Locally, investors welcomed news that Philippine exports surged by 42.5 percent year-on -year in January, the biggest jump since April 1995 and the second straight month that exports posted a strong double-digit growth.

Another piece of good domestic news this week is the 36.6 percent sales growth reported by the automotive industry in the first two months of 2010.