Local shares closed above 6,400 level on Friday on easing concerns about US and China trade war.
The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index rose 56.87 points or 0.89 percent to close at 6,411.86 while the broader all shares Index went up 13.82 points or 0.37 percent to 3,741.12.
The peso also closed at 55.57 against the US dollar Friday, up from 55.84 on Wednesday.
Asian markets also advanced on Friday as China expressed willingness to negotiate with US on tariff issues, which eased concerns about potential trade war.
“Philippine shares broke past the 6,400 level as easing trade tensions and Fitch’s reaffirmation of the country’s BBB rating with stable outlook lifted sentiment,” Regina Capital Development Corp head of sales Luis Limlingan said.
Among the sectoral indices, services rose the most, increasing by 2.55 percent followed by holding firms and financials which climbed 1.84 percent and 0.31 percent, respectively.
On the other hand, mining and oil fell sharply, declining by 2.73 percent as gold prices fell due to easing trade tensions. Property also dropped by 0.57 percent and industrial by 0.37 percent.
Value turnover reached P6.27 billion.
International Container Terminal Services Inc. was the top index gainer as share price rose 5.35 percent to P358.40 each.
Shares of SM Prime Holdings Inc. on the other hand declined 0.62 percent to P24.20 each.
Asian markets largely rose Friday, tracking Wall Street gains, as China said it was considering a US offer to negotiate steep tariffs.
US markets had forged higher Thursday following strong results from tech giants Microsoft and Meta that helped offset lingering economic worries.President Donald Trump’s levies reached 145 percent on many Chinese products in April, while Beijing has responded with fresh 125 percent duties on imports from the United States.
On Friday, China’s commerce ministry said it was evaluating a US offer for negotiations on tariffs, but wanted Washington to show “sincerity” and be ready to scrap levies that have roiled global markets and supply chains.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that China has reached out for talks on the tariffs, and this week said he believed there was a “very good chance we’re going to make a deal.”
Dozens of countries face a 90-day deadline expiring in July to strike an agreement with Washington and avoid higher, country-specific rates.
Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said Beijing and Washington were now “waving detente flags” in their spiraling trade war.
Beijing’s demand for sincerity was an apparent call to ditch the 145 percent rate, before holding serious talks, Innes said in a note Friday.”
But dig a layer deeper, and the path is still littered with landmines,” he added.
In Asia on Friday, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was up more than 1.7 percent at the close, while Tokyo’s main Nikkei index closed up 1.04 percent.
Taipei gained 2.7 percent and Sydney closed up 1.1 percent, while Seoul edged up 0.1 percent and New Zealand was flat. Mainland Chinese markets were closed for a holiday.
In Europe, London was up in early trading while Paris and Frankfurt both rose more than one percent in trade after public holidays.
Japan’s envoy for US tariff talks said in Washington on Thursday that a second round of negotiations between the two countries had been “frank and constructive”.
Japan, a key US ally and its biggest investor, is subject to the same 10 percent baseline tariffs imposed on most nations plus steeper levies on cars, steel and aluminum.
The Bank of Japan warned earlier that tariffs were fueling global economic uncertainty and revised down its growth forecasts while keeping its key interest rate steady.
Traders are looking ahead Friday to US jobs data for April for indications of the US central bank’s path for interest rates. With AFP