Stocks climbed on Monday, tracking regional markets which soared after the result of the French presidential elections.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index closed at 7,.962.33, up 120.34, and its highest for the year. At the broader marker, there were 116 gainers and 81 losers, with 42 issues unchanged.

Gainers were led by Ayala Land Inc and Petron Corp. after good earnings results. Ayala Land went up by 4.63 percent to P38.40 while Petron rose 722 percent to P9.65

Volume reached 1.91 billion shares valued at P9.44 billion. Foreign funds were net buyers P681.53 million.

The peso closed at P49.86 from P49.10 on Friday. Volume amounted to $410.50 million from $443.70 million on the previous day. DMS