Philippine shares rose Thursday for the third straight session, as investors continued to buy select blue chips like Ayala Land, which are expected to post strong third-quarter financial results.

The benchmark 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange Index advanced 6.91 points, or 0.4 percent, to 1,941.46, bringing the total gain to 1.3 percent since Tuesday.

"Investors are nibbling on select stocks. They're just taking in small volumes ahead of the long weekend," said Westlink Global Equities Chairman Rommel Macapagal.

Macapagal said investors were positioning ahead of the scheduled release of more third-quarter corporate results and for the traditional year-end rally.

Ayala Land topped the list of gainers, rising 3.5 percent to 8.90 pesos. The Philippines' largest property group is scheduled to release its third-quarter financial results on or before Nov. 11 amid expectations that its numbers will be strong.

Bank of the Philippine Islands was up 1 percent at 51 pesos, as the stock recovered from a recent sell-off triggered by concerns over the impact of its high nonperforming loans on its earnings.

The peso fell slightly against the dollar Thursday as banks bought back some of the U.S. currency after aggressive selling in the past two sessions left many of them short of the greenback, traders said.

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