PSE index closes lower on last-minute selling

THE MAIN INDEX ended lower on Monday — the last trading day of 2025 — on last-minute selling as investors positioned before the holiday break, with most players also preferring to stay on the sidelines as they remain cautious on the Philippine economy’s prospects.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) went down by 0.21% or 12.72 points to end at 6,052.92. Meanwhile, the broader all shares index increased by 0.24% or 8.58 points to 3,473.24.

Year on year, the stock benchmark went down by 7.29% or 475.87 points from its end-2024 finish of 6,528.79.

“The benchmark index ended the year on a negative note amid holiday-thinned trading, with the last session for 2025 dropping to 6,052.92 for a year-to-date loss of 7.29%,” China Bank Capital Corp. Managing Director Juan Paolo E. Colet said in a Viber message. “This caps the most challenging trading year since the pandemic crash of 2020 as the index underperformed most analysts’ initial base case targets and also relative to other regional stock markets. Foreign investors were net sellers by around P51 billion for the year due to a mix of trade, economic, and governance concerns.”

“Philippine equities closed the year with a last-minute sell-off as investors cashed out early, effectively switching to a wait-and-see stance ahead of 2026 as fresh leads are nowhere to be found,” AP Securities, Inc. said in a market note.

Philstocks Financial, Inc. said in a market note that the PSEi was in the green for most of the day on bargain hunting.

“However, last-minute selling sent the market lower. Investors’ cautiousness prevailed amid the lingering uncertainties over the local economy’s outlook in 2026,” it added.

The PSEi opened Monday’s session at 6,073.90, higher than Friday’s close of 6,065.64. It climbed to an intraday high of 6,100.71, a near two-week peak for the benchmark, but selling pressure caused it to close at its low for the session.

Most sectoral indices closed in the red. Mining and oil went down by 1.16% or 177.83 points to 15,059.80; property dropped by 1.08% or 24.86 points to 2,276.14; financials decreased by 0.88% or 18.21 points to 2,048.47; and services fell by 0.13% or 3.18 points to close at 2,378.54.

Meanwhile, holding firms went up by 1.09% or 51.62 points to 4,787.66, and industrials rose by 0.43% or 37.61 points to 8,620.59.

“Alliance Global Group, Inc. was the day’s index leader, jumping 6.36% to P8.19. SM Prime Holdings, Inc. was the worst index performer, dropping 3.6% to P22.75,” Philstocks Financial said.

Advancers outnumbered decliners, 139 to 75, while 56 names closed unchanged.

Value turnover rose to P4.29 billion on Monday with 727.82 million shares traded from P2.77 billion with 1.04 billion issues that changed hands on Friday.

Net foreign selling increased to P168.74 million from P34.57 million. — A.G.C. Magno