TRADING was nearly flat on Friday as investors remained cautious ahead of a key speech from the chairman of the US central bank this weekend and a meeting between President Rodrigo Duterte and Chinese President Xi Jinping next week.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) inched up by 0.51 percent or 40.58 points to end at 7,889.41, while the wider all shares rose by 0.27 percent or 13.23 points to finish at 4,770.38.