Stocks Stumble on Shaky Confidence

The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) index buckled Thursday amid weak investor confidence, closing at its lowest level of the year despite the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) move to cut interest rates by 25 basis points to 5 percent.

The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) Index, August 28, 2025

The benchmark PSE index fell 83.15 points, or 1.33 percent, to 6,190.19.

Banking stocks bore the brunt of the decline, with top-traded BDO Unibank sliding 3.35 percent to ₱135.50 on transactions worth ₱761 million. Bank of the Philippine Islands, Metrobank, and Security Bank also retreated, while PNB and UnionBank bucked the bearish trend.

As a result, the Financials index dropped 2.41 percent.

Other sectors also weakened: Industrials slipped 0.24 percent, Holding Firms fell 0.67 percent, Services declined 1 percent, and Property shed 1.45 percent. Mining and Oil managed to stay afloat, supported by a $2.90 rise in gold prices to $3,398.40 per ounce amid concerns over the U.S. inflation fight.

Value turnover reached ₱7 billion, while net foreign selling hit ₱769 million, with foreign buying at ₱3.32 billion and foreign selling at ₱4.095 billion.

Market breadth was flat, with 99 gainers matching 99 losers, while 48 shares were unchanged, including Belle Corp., Alternergy, Cebu Landmasters, SP New Energy Corp. (SPNEC), and Atlas Mining.

Among the gainers were PLDT—which withstood the broader telco sell-off—alongside Jollibee Foods, Century Pacific Food, Megaworld, DMCI Holdings, ABS-CBN, GMA Network, MREIT, Alliance Global, and LT Group.

Losers included Bloomberry, PhilWeb, DigiPlus, Globe Telecom, Converge, DITO CME, Citystate Savings, Meralco, Manila Water, Topline, SM Investments, San Miguel, GT Capital, and OceanaGold.