Stocks surged in the first trading day of November following a two-day holiday as the main index climbed to a new all-time high on Thursday.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index finished at 8,516,02, up 150.76 points. The old record was 8,497.74 last October 17. In the broader market, there were 116 gainers, 79 decliners and 47 issues unchanged.

Volume rose to 1.47 million shares worth P 9.5 billion from 730.71 million shares valued at P6.67 billion on October 30.

Most active shares were led by Ayala Corp., up 5.72 percent to P1,090; BDO Unibank, up 4.73 percent to P144; Megaworld, up 6.94 percent to P5.70 and Nickel Asia, up 4.86 percent to P7.34.

The peso closed at P51.42 against the US dollar from P51.61. Volume at the Philippine Dealing System reached $562.40 million from $421.80 million. DMS