MANILA, Philippines -- (UPDATE) Shares closed firmer on Friday as investors took comfort in positive offshore leads, including a pullback in oil prices and the upward revision of first-quarter economic growth in the United States, a key market for Asia's exports.

Investors snapped up bargains after prices hit three-week lows, although they remained hesitant to buy aggressively a day after the government announced disappointing economic growth figures for the first quarter.

Wall Street advanced for the third straight session on Thursday on easing concerns that consumer spending -- which accounts for more than two-thirds of US economic activity -- will slacken following recent spikes in oil prices.

Light, sweet crude fell $4.41 to settle at $126.62 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on concerns over falling demand in the United States and other developed countries. It was the benchmark's lowest close in two weeks.

In Asian morning trade, New York's main oil futures contract was 17 cents lower at $126.45. The benchmark peaked at a record $135.09 last week.

"What appears to be an unfolding bursting of the commodities price bubble is leading to easing inflation concerns," said Francisco Liboro, president of PCCI Securities.

"This in turn is being translated into expectation of better global economic growth and corporate earnings in the second half."

Wall Street was also buoyed by the Commerce Department saying the economy grew in the first quarter at an annual rate of 0.9 percent -- above the department's earlier estimate of 0.6 percent and the fourth-quarter increase of 0.6 percent.

The revised reading helped soothe worries about a recession.

Manila's 30-company composite index rose 25.22 points or 0.9 percent to 2,827.44, off a high of 2,835.49.

The all-share index was up 0.6 percent at 1,741.79.

There were 55 advancers and 29 decliners, while 50 issues were flat.

But turnover was leaner at P1.6 billion compared to P2.3 billion on Thursday.

Recovering from Thursday's recent falls, index leader Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. rose 1.0 percent to P2,605.00.

Banco de Oro Unibank led financial sector's rebound with a gain of 7.5 percent to P50.50, a day after it slipped 2.1 percent.

Manila Electric Co. rose 4.2 percent to P61.50. The stock recovered from recent heavy losses amid an ongoing battle for management control of the Philippines' biggest power distributor.

A key Meralco shareholder, the Government Service Insurance System, has blamed high electricity rates on alleged inefficiency and mismanagement of the company.

But worries about consumer spending further slackening amid rising inflation weighed heavily on food and drinks conglomerate San Miguel Corp.

San Miguel's A shares, limited to Filipinos, lost 6.0 percent to P39.50. Its B shares, open to all investors, slumped 9.4 percent to P38.50.

Data released on Thursday showed Philippine economic growth slowing to 5.2 percent in the first quarter from 6.4 percent in the previous quarter and 7.0 percent in the first quarter of 2007.

Growth slackened as a slowdown in the United States weakened exports and soaring food and energy prices hurt consumer spending.

"Clearly, higher food and energy prices are taking a larger toll on consumers and businesses than we thought," said DBS Bank economist Lim Su Sian.

Annual inflation probably moved closer to 10 percent in May, after hitting a three-year high of 8.3 percent in April due to soaring food and fuel prices. This may prompt the central bank to lift interest rates for the first time since October 2005 despite a slowing economy, economists said.

The consumer price index may have risen to 8.8 percent this month, according to the average estimate of economists in a Thomson IFR poll.

The government will release the May inflation data next Thursday, the same day that the central bank will meet to decide what to do with interest rates. Policymakers have kept the overnight borrowing rate at 5.0 percent and the overnight lending rate at 7.0 percent at the last two meetings.

($1 = P43.80)

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