Stocks go down on profit taking, fiscal concerns

Philippine stocks dropped on Thursday on profit taking after the market’s two-day climb and concerns over the country’s fiscal health.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) fell by 0.52% or 33.24 points to close at 6,291.85, while the broader all shares index sank by 0.57% or 21.61 points to 3,743.03.

“The local market declined as investors took profits following two days of rallying,” Philstocks Financial Inc. Research Manager Japhet Louis O. Tantiangco said in a Viber message.

“Concerns over the outlook of the Philippines’ fiscal position also dampened sentiment as the government’s outstanding debt is projected to hit PHP 19.06 trillion by end-2026,” he added.

The 2026 Budget of Expenditures and Sources of Financing showed that the National Government’s (NG) outstanding debt is expected to increase by 9.78% to a record PHP 19.06 trillion by end-2026 from the revised PHP 17.36-trillion estimate for end-2025.

Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto said NG debt is still manageable, noting the economy will be worth roughly PHP 31.8 trillion by 2026.

As of June, the Philippines’ outstanding debt hit a fresh high of PHP 17.27 trillion, up 11.5% from PHP 15.48 trillion in the same month in 2024.

This brought the debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio to 63.1% at the end of June, the highest ratio since 2005. This is above the 60% debt-to-GDP threshold considered by multilateral lenders to be manageable for developing economies.

“The market slipped today as some investors may have already taken profits following the index’s series of uptrends this week,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said in a Viber message.

“Furthermore, investors are likely still waiting for developments in stock market news that could influence the overall market, along with the upcoming implementation of the PSEi rebalancing,” he added. The rebalancing will take effect on Aug. 18.

Sectoral indices ended mixed on Thursday. Services dropped by 2.42% or 56.03 points to 2,259.55; property retreated by 1.02% or 24.97 points to 2,413.58; and holding firms declined by 0.64% or 34.63 points to 5,302.24.

Meanwhile, industrials climbed by 0.38% or 34.23 points to 8,961.63; financials rose by 0.09% or 1.97 points to 2,152.02; and mining and oil edged up by 0.09 point to 9,330.87.

“Jollibee Foods Corp. was the top index gainer, climbing 2.33% to P220. Converge ICT Solutions, Inc. was the main index laggard, plunging 7.46% to PHP 14.88,” Mr. Tantiangco said.

Value turnover went down to PHP 8.41 billion on Thursday with 2.09 billion shares exchanged from the PHP 10.61 billion with 893.55 million shares traded on Wednesday.

Market breadth was negative as decliners outnumbered advancers, 106 to 84, while 46 names were unchanged.

Net foreign buying went down to PHP 100.92 million on Thursday from PHP 973.04 million on Wednesday. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave