Stocks closed at a new record high on the first trading day of the year on Wednesday.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index finished at 8, 724,13 points, up 165.71 points. In the broader market, there were 118 gainers, 102 decliners and 38 shares unchanged.

"All the news are upbeat. The general consensus is one of optimism," said Budget Secretary Ben Diokno in a text message to the Daily Manila Shimbun. "Filipino optimism is an all-time high. Economists and international financial institutions see the Philippines as one of the fastest growing countries in the fastest growing region of the world."

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia, in a separate reply to the Daily Manila Shimbun, said the reasons for the market's strong performance were: "Strong economic performance, passage of TRAIN bill etc plus general optimism through 2018"

Meanwhile, the peso touched near six-month highs of P49.80 against the US dollar before closing at P49.81 at the Philippine Dealing System. Volume amounted to $634.2 million from Friday's $742.6 million.

Volume reached 712 million shares worth P7.28 billion compared to Friday's 3.34 billion valued at P7.26 billion. Foreigners were net buyers, with P348 million.

BDO Unibank bucked the trend by closing 1.83 percent to P161 but Ayala Corp., Ayala Land, SM Investment Corp., Metrobank and SM Prime gained.

Ayala Corp. rose 2.46 percent to P1,040, Ayala Land gained 2.02 percent to P45.50, SM Investment Corp went up by 5.05 percent to P1,040, Metrobank finished 3.16 percent to P104.60 and SM Prime ended 3.33 percent higher to P38.75. DMS