Stocks rose on Thursday as the Philippine Stock Exchange index rose 17.84 points to 7,252.66 points.

Volume gained slightly from the previous session with 5.76 billion shares worth P6.69 billion from 5.14 billion valued at P6.48 billion. Foreign selling still dominated with P3.8 billion of shares sold compared to P3.18 billion bought by foreigners.

The peso closed unchanged at P49.87 on lower volume. Turnover at the Philippine Dealing System reached $353 million from $528 million on Wednesday. DMS