MANILA, Philippines - Companies under Henry Sy's SM group saw new highs on Wednesday, after the group confirmed it is studying a proposal to merge its property and mall businesses.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) closed at 6,648.57, up 0.42% or 27 points, its 19th record close of the  year.

The PSEi surged in mid-morning trade to 6,690.00, just a few points shy of the 6,700 level.

Among the day's big gainers were SM Development Corp. which rose 3.87% after announcing its 2012 profit rose over 17% to P4.9 billion.

SM Investments also climbed 0.70% to P1,007, while BDO Unibank surged 1.8% to P91.55. SM Prime is also up by 1%.

The SM Group confirmed it is studying a possible merger of its real estate businesses.

At the foreign exchange market, the peso ended 2 centavos weaker, closing at P40.65 against the dollar. - With ANC and Warren de Guzman, ANC