Stocks rallied to close slightly higher on the first trading day of the year on Tuesday.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index gained 20.67 points to end at 6,861.31. It was down by 87.34 points after the trading bell ceremony signaling the year’s start of transactions.

Volume reached 664.21 million shares worth P2.68 billion. Foreign buying amounted to P1.55 billion and foreign selling P1.23 billion.

The peso closed at P49.775 against the US dollar from P49.72 on December 29, 2016. Volume amounted to $414.90 million from the previous $286.996 million.

Meanwhile, AC Energy Holdings, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Ayala Corporation, signed “definitive documents” to sell all of its ownership stake in each of QuadRiver Energy Corp., according to a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange.

Philnew Hydro Power Corp. and PhilnewRiver Corp. to Sta. Clara Group, Inc. These three firms are also known as Hydro Companies.

AC Energy held 70 percent of the outstanding capital stock of each of the Hydro Companies, with Sta. Clara Power Corp. owning the remaining 30 percent. DMS

The Hydro Companies are grantees of several hydropower service contracts from the Department of Energy. DMS