Manila  - Philippine share prices rose 2.08 per cent on Thursday on the back of Wall Street's overnight gains despite lower growth forecasts for the domestic economy.

The 30-share composite index of the Philippine Stock Exchange gained 42.17 points to close at 2,064.66 from Wednesday's finish of 2,022.49.

Gainers swamped losers 85 to 24, while 29 issues were unchanged. A total of 2.08 billion shares worth 2.64 billion pesos (55 million dollars) were traded.

Traders said market sentiment was boosted by the Dow Jones' surge on Wednesday, when the industrial average gained more than 109 points.

Investors shrugged off the Philippine government's announcement that it has lowered economic growth estimates for 2009 to between 3.1 per cent and 4.1 per cent due to weak exports.

Initial forecasts for gross domestic product growth in 2009 had been between 3.7 per cent and 4.4 per cent.