Philippine shares advanced on Thursday following a rally in Wall Street overnight after the US Federal Reserve announced a less aggressive interest rate hike to combat surging inflation.
The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) also jumped nearly 100 points after Converge ICT Solutions said profits doubled last year while large banks pushed higher.
The PSEi rose 1.37 percent, or 96 points, to 7,122.45 while the broader all-shares index was up 1.25 percent, or 46.28 points, to 3,759.96.
US markets and regional bourses were higher after the US raised its benchmark interest rates by 0.25 percent. The first such increase since December 2018, the decision was expected given earlier pronouncements by US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell.
Financials jumped 3.39 percent on the strong performance of Bank of the Philippine Islands, Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. and BDO Unibank Inc.
Converge ICT surged nearly 9.5 percent by the closing bell after the fiber internet provider said profits more than doubled to P7.16 billion last year on the back of strong subscriber growth. Converge said it would add 700,000 more home subscribers this year to end 2022 with about 2.4 million.
Property, industrial and holding firms also gained while mining and oil slid 1.30 percent.
A total of 1.43 billion shares valued at P7.5 billion changed hands, PSE data showed. Overall, there were 123 gainers against 62 losers while 49 companies closed unchanged.
BDO Unibank Inc. was the most actively traded company as it gained 2.94 percent to P133 per share.
It was followed by Converge ICT, up 9.49 percent to P25.95; SM Prime Holdings Inc., up 0.40 percent to P38.10; International Container Terminal Services Inc., up 3.12 percent to P224.80; and Bank of the Philippine Islands, up 5.16 percent to P99.90 per share.
Rounding out the actives list were SM Investments Corp., up 0.67 percent to P906; Ayala Land Inc., up 2.67 percent to P36.55; Metropolitan Bank & Trust, up 3.73 percent to P54.20; PLDT Inc., down 2.65 percent to P1,693; and AC Energy Corp., up 3.44 percent to P8.43 per share.