Manila  - Philippine shares rose 2.51 per cent on Thursday as investors snapped up bargain stocks, buoyed by strong performances in Wall Street and other Asian markets.

The Philippine Stock Exchange's 30-share composite index gained 48.26 points to close at 1,988.28 from Wednesday's finish of 1,939.69.

A total of 1.18 million shares valued at 2.73 billion pesos (56.28 million dollars) were traded.

Gainers outpaced losers 84 to 21, with 34 issues unchanged.

Traders also attributed the rise to hopes by investors that the Philippine government's 330-billion-peso stimulus package would help prevent a slump in spending. (dpa)