MANILA, Philippines ? Local stocks trekked higher on Wednesday on follow-through buying buoyed by relatively firm global markets.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index added 15.46 points or 0.45 percent to 3,451.91.

The index was supported by modest gains eked out by the industrial, holding firms and services counters. The financial sector was flat while the property and mining/oil counters were in the red.

Value turnover stood at P3.5 billion. There were 70 advancers as against 56 decliners and 39 unchanged stocks.

Trading was firm throughout the day but gains were pared down by some late-session profit-taking.

Investors loaded up on shares of Filinvest Land Inc., Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., Aboitiz Power Corp., Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., Universal Robina Corp. and Metro Pacific Investments Corp.

On the other hand, share prices of the following stocks retreated: Energy Development Corp., Megaworld Corp., Philippine National Bank, DMCI Holdings Inc., SM Prime Holdings Inc., Ayala Land Inc. and Bank of the Philippine Islands.

Domestic sentiment was still buoyed by modest Wall Street trading gains. The Dow Jones Industrial index was still up by 12.26 points or 0.12 percent to 10,537.69. However, the broader S&P 500 index and the tech-heavy Nasdaq were slightly down.