Shares inch up ahead of Marcos-Trump meeting

Philippine shares edged up on Tuesday as investors await updates on bilateral talks between the Philippines and the United States and on expectations of further monetary easing at home.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) inched up by 0.04% or 2.95 points to end at 6,355.69, while the broader all shares index rose by 0.1% or 3.76 points to 3,757.20.

“The PSEi corrected higher for the third consecutive trading day as President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. is scheduled to meet US President Donald J. Trump on July 22 (US time) that could lead to a possible trade deal,” Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said in a Viber message.

“The market also improved after the latest dovish signals from Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto on possible 50-basis-point (bp) rate cuts for the rest of 2025…,” he added.

Mr. Marcos is in the US from July 20-22. He had a meeting with US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth at the Pentagon on the first day of his three-day working visit.

Mr. Marcos is also set to meet with Mr. Trump to discuss trade and security. Mr. Trump earlier announced a 20% “reciprocal” import tariff on Philippine products starting Aug. 1, higher than the initial 17% duty set in April.

Meanwhile, Mr. Recto, who sits on the central bank’s policy-setting Monetary Board, said last week that the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has room for two more 25-bp cuts this year amid subdued inflation.

Last month, the BSP delivered a second straight 25-bp cut to bring its policy rate to 5.25%. The Monetary Board has three more meetings this year.

“The PSEi remains above the 6,350 mark, holding modest gains as sentiment showed slight improvement despite lower than usual market volume,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan added in a Viber message. “Technical setups hint at renewed confidence while still cautious after last week’s dip, most likely awaiting the development of the trade discussions in Washington this week and upcoming corporate earnings.”

Majority of sectoral indices rose on Tuesday. Mining and oil climbed by 0.89% or 81.67 points to 9,199.41; property increased by 0.69% or 16.41 points to 2,391.26; financials went up by 0.64% or 14.37 points to 2,248.90; and industrials inched up by 0.11% or 10.40 points to 9,140.11.

Meanwhile, holding firms dropped by 0.61% or 33.11 points to 5,397.20 and services went down by 0.13% or 2.79 points to 2,139.35.

Value turnover decreased to PHP 5.01 billion on Tuesday with 1.07 billion shares traded from the PHP 5.79 billion with 1.14 billion shares exchanged on Monday.

Advancers edged out decliners, 97 versus 96, while 45 names were unchanged.

Net foreign selling went down to PHP 14.67 million on Tuesday from PHP 36.3 million on Monday. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave