PSEi plunges to fresh 5-year low, tracks pandemic level
The government’s corruption crisis, softer consumption and cut in public spending that led to economic growth slowing to a four-year low continued to erode investor confidence, with the capital index on track to drop to its weakest finish since the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) fell by another 1.29 percent, or 73.57 points, to close at 5,629.07, a fresh five-year low.
The broader All Shares Index also declined by 0.94 percent, or 32.82 points, to 3,465.61.
Among the key sectors, only the services ended in the positive territory. Financials and property sectors bled more on Tuesday’s trading.
Analysts said that the local bourse continued to see a bloodbath as depressing government data clouded investor optimism.
“The market remained weak as investors continue to price in softer GDP (gross domestic product) growth for the next few quarters, with 3Q25 corporate earnings starting to show strain from the weakening economy,” said Alfred Benjamin Garcia, research head at AP Securities Inc.
Last week, the government reported that the economy grew by just 4 percent in the July to September period, its slowest since the first quarter of 2021—when the Duterte administration imposed hard lockdowns to lessen the virus’ blow.
The Marcos administration’s growth target, on the other hand, is set at 5.5 percent to 6.5 percent.
The sharp contraction in public spending was blamed on widespread anomalies linked to flood control projects. To recall, the Department of Public Works and Highways had suspended a number of activities, especially those covering bidding and procurement for local projects.
Household consumption also slowed to 4.1 percent due to a series of typhoons.
“While the index may stage an interim rebound due to oversold conditions, the general directional bias remains on the downside. Any rally, if any, may just be temporary,” Ron Acoba, chief investment strategist at Trading Edge Consultancy, said in a message.
“As of now, the index is clearly trending south, and is now eyeing its pandemic low of around 4500,” Acoba added.
He even noted that the index would have already plunged to the pandemic level without a lift from International Container Terminal Services, Inc. and Manila Electric Co., which he said “account for about 20 percent weight in the index.”
“As for whether the weakness could drag on, short-term, the market seems to be trying to find a support level where valuations are cheap enough to justify bargain-hunting. Until that bottom is found, we can’t say for certain when this trend will reverse,” Garcia added.
For Tuesday’s trading, DigiPlus Interactive Corp. logged the highest gain, increasing 7.65 percent to P27.45. Universal Robina Corp., on the other hand, was the worst index performer, falling 6.64 percent to P66.10.
