PSE Index Falls As Holding Firms Falter

The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) index snapped its two-day winning streak on Monday, retreating by 51.48 points or 0.83% to close at 6,134.62, weighed down by declines in SM Investments and other holding firms amid another low-turnover session.

The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) Index, April 16, 2025

The market opened lower and slid further to an intraday low of 6,121.26 as investor sentiment remained cautious, leading to a sharp 30% drop in value turnover to just P4.2 billion.

Holding firms were the hardest hit, down by 1.41%, after SM Investments fell 2.95% or P24.50 to P805 — a decline that dragged down JG Summit, DMCI Holdings, and Alliance Global.

The services sector also lost 1.86%, while financials slipped 0.11% and property shed 0.26%. Only the industrial and mining and oil sectors managed to post gains.

The industrial index rose by 0.17%, supported by a 1.87% increase in Universal Robina to P71, along with gains in Meralco, SPNEC, Aboitiz Power, and Manila Water. Mining and oil advanced 0.71% as gold prices showed prospects of breaching $3,300 per ounce.

Market breadth remained positive with 110 gainers outnumbering 79 losers, while 51 issues were unchanged.

Net foreign buying was marginal at P11.6 million, with foreign buying at P2.653 billion and foreign selling at P2.665 billion. Among the gainers were BDO Unibank, Converge, Jollibee Foods, EastWest Bank, Citicore REIT, Axelum, D&L Industries, CEMEX Holdings, GT Capital, and Cosco Capital.

Integrated Micro-Electronics, DoubleDragon, Cebu Landmasters, AREIT, Alternergy, RL Commercial REIT, VistaREIT, PLDT, Dito CME, Cebu Air, MacroAsia, Belle Corp., PhilWeb, OceanaGold, Nickel Asia, and Haus Talk also closed the day up.

On the other hand, decliners included ICTSI — the day’s most actively traded stock with P531 million in value — as well as Ayala Land, SM Prime, and China Bank.

Likewise, in the red were PNB, Security Bank, Union Bank, ACEN Corp., First Gen, Century Pacific Food, Emperador, SMC Global Power, Monde Nissin, Victorias Milling, Megawide, Pryce Corp., and Aboitiz Equity Ventures.

Unchanged issues included Bank of the Philippine Islands, Sun Life, Basic Energy, Figaro Coffee, Ginebra, Abacore, LT Group, San Miguel Corp., and Filinvest Land.