Ghost Flood Projects Sink PSE Index

Congressional hearings that exposed trillion-peso “ghost” flood-control projects dragged the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) index to an intra-day low before bargain hunting helped it pare losses, closing at 6,128.89, down 11.46 points or 0.19 percent.

The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) Index, September 2, 2025.

The index initially rose five points from Monday’s close but quickly sold off, plunging to 6,076.27 before bargain hunters halted the slide.

Telco stocks were among the most actively traded, with PLDT and Globe slipping to fresh lows before recovering. PLDT fell to ₱1,126 before rebounding 1.12 percent to ₱1,139. Globe Telecom dropped to ₱1,505 but closed at ₱1,520, up 1 percent.

Converge and DITO, however, ended lower. The selloff came as the Konektadong Pinoy Act lapsed into law.

Market bellwether SM Investments slid another ₱3 to ₱750, just ₱6 above its one-year low, dragging down other conglomerates such as San Miguel, Aboitiz Equity, and GT Capital.

Holding firms fell 0.08 percent, while services and financials declined 0.17 percent and 0.79 percent, respectively. Mining stocks shone on speculative activity in gold, with Apex Mining, Atlas Mining, and Benguet A and B advancing.

Philodrill’s rise also boosted the Mining and Oil index, which surged 2.50 percent. Property and industrial counters gained 0.27 percent and 0.04 percent, respectively.

PhilWeb was the day’s top gainer, soaring 41.06 percent to ₱5.05 after naming veteran gaming executive Antonio Hernandez as its new president. In contrast, DigiPlus and Bloomberry slipped on worries over the economic fallout of the flood project scandal.

Foreign investors extended their selling spree, logging net outflows of ₱368 million after buying ₱1.967 billion against ₱2.336 billion in sales. Negative sentiment was reflected in an 8.33 percent drop in average trades to ₱5.5 billion.

The gainers were Emperador, Aboitiz Power, Dizon Copper, Araneta Properties, PNB, PSE, Sun Life, Nickel Asia, ACEN Corp., and Ayala Land.

ICTSI, Bank of PI, BDO Unibank, Monde Nissin, SPNEC, Union Bank, Petron, Manila Water, Universal Robina, and Cebu Air ended the day down. Advancers totaled 84, decliners 111, with 59 unchanged.