Stocks closed relatively unchanged on Thursday as the Philippine Stock Exchange index finished 8.59 points higher to 7,332.59.

At the broader market, there were 92 decliners against 91 advancers with 49 issues unchanged.

Volume reached 864.73 million shares valued at P7.64 billion. Foreigners remained net sellers with P4.74 billion and buying at P4.55 billion.

Swift Foods Inc and Manila Broadcasting Co. led gainers. Ayala Corp., whose price was unchanged, was the most active with 913,800 shares traded worth P778 million.

The peso closed slightly lower at P50.20 from P50.185 against the US dollar. Volume at the Philippine Dealing System declined to $320.5 million from $441.4 million in Wednesday. DMS