PSEi slips on cautious trading

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) finished lower for the second straight session, closing the week in the loss column as concerns over the ongoing war dampened sentiment.

The benchmark PSEi slipped by 0.19 percent or 11.37 points to end the week at 5,972.83.

The broader All Shares index, however, eked out a win, inching up by 0.05 percent or 1.75 points to 3,335.86.

RCBC chief economist Michael Ricafort attributed yesterday’s decline to the higher Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas inflation estimates for 2026 and 2027 as well as some market doubts on the ceasefire between the United States and Iran.

Regina Capital’s Luis Limlingan, for his part, said market participants mostly stayed on the sidelines, awaiting clearer signals on global developments.

“The PSEi ended the week relatively flat as persistent geopolitical tensions and local currency depreciation continued to weigh on investor sentiment,” Limlingan said.

“Risk appetite remained subdued, leading to selective buying and generally cautious trading activity,” he said.

Sectoral gauges were a mixed bag, with holding firms posting the biggest increase at 0.68 percent, while mining and oil recorded the biggest drop at 0.72 percent.

Total value turnover saw a slight improvement to P8.9 billion from the previous day’s P7.9 billion.

Advancers edged out decliners in a tight contest, 92 to 91, while 54 issues were unchanged.

ICTSI was still the session’s top traded stock, declining by 0.43 percent to P693 per share, followed by banking heavyweights BPI and BDO Unibank which declined by 0.51 percent and 1.08 percent, respectively, to P98.50 and P119.10.