Philippine Stocks Slip as Peso Weakness Weighs on Investor Confidence

Business | Economics Posted on 2026-05-17 07:22:06

MANILA – The Philippine stock market closed lower on Friday as the continued depreciation of the peso against the US dollar weakened investor sentiment and triggered profit-taking activities.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index declined by 0.64 percent, ending the trading session at 5,976.77, while the broader All Shares index also dropped by 0.65 percent to 3,371.41.

Most sectoral indices finished in negative territory, led by Mining and Oil which posted the steepest decline at 2.52 percent. Financials followed with a 2.39 percent decrease, while Holding Firms fell by 2.33 percent and Property slipped by 0.11 percent.

On the other hand, the Services sector recorded gains of 1.59 percent, while Industrials managed a slight increase of 0.01 percent.

According to Luis Limlingan, investor sentiment was affected by the peso’s continued weakening against the US dollar, prompting traders to lock in profits after the market’s gains in the previous trading session.

Market activity ended with 77 advancing stocks, 103 decliners, and 66 unchanged issues.

Meanwhile, the Philippine peso weakened further to 61.70 against the US dollar from the previous day’s close of 61.64.

The local currency opened trading at 61.63 and fluctuated between 61.57 and 61.73 throughout the session, with an average trading level of 61.68.

Foreign exchange trading volume also declined to USD1.199 billion from USD1.578 billion recorded in the previous session.

Analysts noted that movements in the peso and global economic developments continue to influence investor behavior in the local equities market.

Source: NPO News Team | PNA-PR

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