Share prices opened strong during the first trading day of the year to close above the 6,100-level on robust foreign buying.
The 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange index jumped 82.14 points, or 1.36 percent, to close at 6,135.06, while the broader all shares index advanced 43.81 points, or 1.26 percent, to 3,517.05.
The peso closed lower at 58.841 to the U.S. dollar Friday, down from 58.79 on Dec. 29.
“The PSEi moved higher in the first trading session of the year. Buying pressure was seen across the board throughout the day,” said Luis Limlingan, head of sales at Regina Capital Development Corp.
Aside from renewed investor optimism, Limlingan said the market rallied due to positive manufacturing data for December, which supports optimism for economic growth.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas also said the December inflation rate could settle between 1.2 percent and 2 percent, which is within the government’s target.
Except for the services sector, which declined 1.01 points, all indices ended higher. Holding firms rose the most, climbing 2.36 percent, followed by financials, which increased 2.3 percent.
Value turnover, however, remained thin as investors are still on extended holiday. Market breadth was positive as gainers edged out losers, 146 to 65, while 64 stocks were unchanged.
Foreign investors were net buyers, with inflows reaching P427.26 million.
Asian markets made a bright start to 2026 on Friday but volumes were thin with Tokyo and Shanghai still closed as investors awaited fresh direction from Wall Street.
Stocks had a bumper 2025, with the S&P adding 16.4 percent, the tech-rich Nasdaq 20.4 percent and London’s FTSE enjoying its merriest Christmas in 16 years.
In Asia, Seoul stocks whooshed 75 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index bounced 28 percent and Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 rocketed more than 26 percent. With AFP
“Naturally, the start of the new year comes with the question everyone asks moving from one year to the next: will this continue? The consensus is that, yes, it will,” said Kyle Rodda at Australian brokerage Capital.com.
“When it comes to the all important US economy, Wall Street is pricing in growth will accelerate this year while inflation still moderates and interest rates get cut. Meanwhile, analysts predict that corporate fundamentals will improve,” Rodda said.
Hong Kong was up 2.2 percent Friday with chip designer Biren Technologies roaring 80 percent higher after its initial public offering.
The Shanghai-based firm’s listing raised more than $700 million, suggesting that investor appetite for anything related to artificial intelligence remains insatiable.
Biren “enjoys scarcity value and high market attention”, said Kenny Ng, a strategist at China Everbright Securities.
“The industry is in a flourishing stage, with many firms striving for breakthroughs and significant growth potential,” Ng said.
Search-engine giant Baidu jumped almost seven percent after saying its AI chip unit Kunlunxin had filed a listing application in Hong Kong.
Taipei, Sydney, Jakarta, Manila and Singapore also advanced while while Seoul’s Kospi, which soared 76 percent in 2025 in large part due to AI boom, was up 1.7 percent.
Samsung Electronics added three percent after co-CEO Jun Young Hyun said customers had praised its high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, some saying that “Samsung is back”, Bloomberg News reported.
After volatile recent days, following record highs for silver, precious metals started the new year on a bright note with gold up 0.64 percent per ounce and silver 1.5 percent shinier. With AFP
