PSE Index Rises on Bargain Hunting

The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) index rose on Thursday as investors engaged in bargain hunting, gaining 41.70 points, or 0.70 percent, to close at 5,958.64.

The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) Index, September 17, 2026

The rebound followed a 1.51-percent decline in the previous session. The PSEi traded between an intraday low of 5,902.00 and a high of 5,974.15.

Holding firms led the advance, rising 1.45 percent, powered by Ayala Corp.'s 5.05-percent gain to ₱508 and a 2.20-percent increase in SM Investments Corp. to ₱535.

SM Investments was also the most actively traded stock, with 32.29 million shares changing hands for ₱16.84 billion, accounting for a substantial portion of the day's total turnover.

Overall value turnover reached ₱25.50 billion, according to PSE data. SM Investments has a share-buyback program of up to ₱60 billion.

A PSE disclosure showed that the company bought back 305,000 shares on Sept. 15 at prices ranging from ₱522.50 to ₱529, with settlement on Sept. 17. The 305,000-share buyback was not a ₱16-billion transaction.

Aside from holding firms, the other sectoral gainers were services, up 1.18 percent; industrials, 0.94 percent; and mining and oil, 0.88 percent.

Financials declined 0.82 percent, while property slipped 0.25 percent. BDO Unibank fell 0.44 percent, while SM Prime Holdings declined 0.92 percent to ₱17.20. Ayala Land continued its recent advance, gaining 0.13 percent to ₱15.20.

The market continued to contend with geopolitical uncertainty surrounding the Iran conflict and the US Federal Reserve's interest-rate decision.

The Fed raised its benchmark rate by 25 basis points on Sept. 16 to a target range of 3.75 percent to 4 percent, its first increase since 2023.

Foreign investors remained net sellers, with ₱766 million in net foreign selling based on ₱5.246 billion in purchases and ₱6.014 billion in sales. Market breadth remained negative, with 97 declining stocks against 93 advancers, while 66 issues were unchanged.