PSEi tumbles to 6,000 level as sentiment sours

Philippine shares sank to the 6,000 level on Wednesday to hit a near five-month low as corruption concerns and the peso’s weakness against the dollar affected investor confidence.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) declined by 0.75% or 45.96 points to close at 6,082.93, while the broader all shares index went down by 0.47% or 17.41 points to end at 3,663.62.

This was the PSEi’s lowest close in almost five months or since it finished at 6,082.44 on April 11.

“The local market extended its decline as lingering headwinds continued to weigh on sentiment. These include the corruption issues in the Philippines’ flood control projects, the weak position of the peso against the US dollar, and the uncertainties on the US’ tariff policies,” Philstocks Financial Inc. Research Manager Japhet Louis O. Tantiangco said in a Viber message.

“Rising long-term Treasury yields in the US also weighed on the bourse,” he said, adding that trading activity at the market remained “tepid.”

Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto said on Tuesday that corruption related to flood control initiatives has cost the Philippines up to PHP 118.5 billion in economic losses since 2023.

On Wednesday, the Department of Public Works and Highways said it has suspended the bidding for all locally funded projects amid the government’s ongoing investigation into alleged irregularities in flood control projects.

Meanwhile, the peso closed at PHP 57.30 per dollar on Wednesday, rebounding from its Tuesday finish of PHP 57.51, which was a near one-month low.

First Metro Investment Corp. Head of Research Cristina S. Ulang said in a Viber message that outflows related to the MSCI and FTSE rebalancing also dragged the Philippine market.

There was also “heightened risk-off sentiment” before the release of Philippine August inflation data on Friday, she said.

The majority of sectoral indices closed lower on Wednesday. Property fell by 1.38% or 34.04 points to 2,418.22; services decreased by 1.2% or 26.16 points to 2,154.67; financials retreated by 0.83% or 17.12 points to 2,045.81; and industrials went down by 0.81% or 74.12 points to 8,982.81.

Meanwhile, mining and oil jumped by 1.28% or 137.02 points to 10,811.63, and holding firms climbed by 0.34% or 17.27 points to 5,062.01.

Value turnover declined to PHP 5.37 billion on Wednesday with 705.16 million shares traded from the PHP 5.58 billion with 1.16 billion shares exchanged on Tuesday.

“San Miguel Corp. was the top index gainer, climbing 2.74% to PHP 59.90. Ayala Land, Inc. was the main index laggard, falling 2.96% to PHP 27.85,” Mr. Tantiangco said.

Decliners outnumbered advancers, 109 to 91, while 56 names were unchanged.

Net foreign selling surged to PHP 921.70 million on Wednesday from PHP 368.84 million on Tuesday. — Alexandria Grace C. Magno