MANILA, Philippines - The local stock market advanced for a  sixth straight session on Tuesday, sending the main index to its best finish in nearly three years as investors picked bargains in late trade.

At the close, the main gauge of the Philippine Stock Exchange reversed early session losses to rise by 0.84% or 31 points to 3,775.42.

Based on data from the PSE, this was also the index's best finish in 34 months since November 8, 2007 when the index stood at the 3,692.10 points.
 
The index has sustained its rally for 6 days in a row, gaining a total of 216.75 points or 6.1%.
 
The index recorded an all-time high of 3,873.50 last October 8, 2007.

Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT), Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. (Metrobank), and Bank of the Philippine Islands were the top traded stocks by value.

PLDT lost 0.9% to P2,426 while Metrobank gained 1.5% to P70. BPI gained 1.9% to P53.

Another top traded stock was Ayala Land Inc., which surged 10% to P18.