LOCAL stocks rose to a five-month high, after US consumer confidence and spending reports suggested demand will pick up in the nation’s biggest export market and source of remittances. SM Prime Holdings Inc. and Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. led the climb. 

‘A pick up in the US economy will be good for the Philippines,�? said Mark Canizares, an analyst at Citiseconline.com in Manila. “There’s optimism that this will trickle positively to corporate earnings.�?

Manila Electric Co. advanced to its highest in more than  four years after a newspaper report said it may buy part of  its power requirement from National Power Corp.  The Philippine Stock Exchange Index gained 26.95, or 1.1  percent, to 2,584.20 at the noon close in Manila, its highest  close since May 8. The measure had gained 1.2 percent in the previous two days.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average on October 13 climbed to a record after economic reports suggested the US will pick up in coming months, boosting demand in the world’s biggest economy.

US consumer confidence rose to 92.3 this month, the highest since July 2005, according to the University of  Michigan’s preliminary index of consumer sentiment. Purchases other than gasoline increased 0.6 percent from August, a government report showed. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News had expected a consumer confidence reading of 86.5 and a 0.2-percent gain in spending. 

The US buys almost a fifth of Philippine exports and the  Filipinos, who work there account for more than half of the funds sent home by overseas workers. Remittances from those workers make up 10 percent of the economy.

SM Prime, the nation’s largest shopping mall operator, added 10 centavos, or 1.2 percent, to P8.60. Philippine Long Distance Telephone (PLDT), the nation’s largest phone company, jumped P50, or 2.3 percent, to 2,250, a two-week high. 

SM Prime captures about half of the money that families of  overseas Filipino workers spend on shopping. PLDT sourced 40 percent of its 1.92 billion minutes of incoming overseas calls from the US in the first half.

Megaworld Corp., the nation’s largest builder of office and residential condominiums, added 2 centavos, or 1 percent, to P2, its highest since June 24, 1997. The company sells at least 25 percent of its homes to overseas Filipinos.

Separately, Manila Electric’s Class A shares, equity reserved for Filipinos in the nation’s largest power retailer, added P1, or 3.9 percent, to 27, its highest close since May 13, 2002. The company may sign an electricity supply contract with state-run National Power to shield customers from power cost fluctuations.

Shares worth P2.24 billion ( million) were traded, 8.7-percent more than the six-month daily average. Gainers beat losers 57 to 26, with 62 stocks unchanged in the broader market.

Equitable PCI Bank, the nation’s third-largest lender by  asset, added 1 peso, or 1.5 percent, to 66 after the central bank approved the purchase of shares in the bank by SM Investments Corp. SM Investments gained 2.50 pesos, or 1 percent, to 262.50, a record.