The Santa Claus rally brokers have been predicting happened Thursday as the Philippine Stock Exchange index soared to a new record close.

The index gained 44.18 points to finish at 8,535.o9 points. The previous all time high was 8,523.07 set on November 6, 2017.

Volume reached 764.75 million shares worth P6.4 billion. Foreigners were net buyers, with P3.2 billion bought while P1.95 billion were sold.

The peso reached an intraday high of P49.85 against the US dollar before closing at P49.98. On Wednesday, the peso finished at P50.40. Volume at the Philippine Dealing System hit $625.30 million from Wednesday's $523.10 million. DMS