MANILA - Share prices extended gains on Friday, on course to reach 8,500 points within the year, as investors looked to third quarter earnings and the passage of tax reform in Congress.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index closed 0.54 percent higher at 8,447.94, for a second day above the 8,400 level.

President Rodrigo Duterte's outburst against the European Union was unlikely to dampen sentiment, said Cristina Ulang, AVP & Head of Research, First Metro Investment.

"Investors are focusing on the accomplishment, the fact that it's moving and it will be there in place to fund the infrastructure program," Ulang told ANC.

"The government is doing a lot of spending and I think that's what's going to propel the country's economy forward," Ulang added.

European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines president Guenter Taus said it was "business as usual," with two business conferences lined up this month.