Share prices continued to gain grounds yesterday moving up 0.70 percent, following the overnight appreciation in the US market.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index closed 22.45 points higher to 3,223.35.

Trading turnover has also improved reaching 816.49 million shares with P2.85 billion in value turnover.

Ron Rodrigo, DBP-Daiwa research head, said the news "has eased anxiety including and increased market confidence to the local market."

"We are tracking the US market, so when they move higher, we also follow," said Rodrigo.

Added to this, the market’s own stocks have also reached oversold level with the series market sell down. The PSE is currently trading at a P/E ratio of 13.94.

Most actively traded PLDT was up P30 to P2,960. Ayala Corp. (AC) was steady at P447.50. Globe Telcoms, Inc. (Globe) was steady at P1,565. SM Investments Corp. (SMIC) was down P2.50 to P295. SM Prime Holdings, Inc. (SMPH) was steady at P9.10.

Meanwhile other markets rose further. Singapore’s Straits Times Index rose 0.8 percent, pulling back from an initial 2 percent rally that came after investor Warren Buffett on Tuesday soothed credit worries by offering to reinsure municipal debt risk from the top bond insurers.

Thai stocks were up 1.46 percent while Malaysian stocks rose 0.4 percent and Indonesian stocks were 0.72 percent higher.

"The momentum is still slightly on the downward basis, but the negativity seems to be lifting a little," said a Singapore-based fund manager, adding that palm oil and biofuel plays would provide upside for the Malaysian and Indonesian markets.

Indonesia’s index was boosted by largest cement firm PT Semen Gresik rising 3.92 percent and the country’s largest automotive distributor PT Astra International jumping 2.62 percent.

By contrast, Vietnam stocks closed 2.78 percent lower, adding to the previous day’s losses, led by falls in the country’s top dairy firm Vinamilk and technology services firm FPT.