MANILA — The Philippine Stock Exchange index and the peso fell on Friday after the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) raised its inflation forecast for 2026, signaling potential pressure on the economy.
The PSEi slipped 0.19 percent to 5,972.82, while the All Shares index edged slightly higher by 0.05 percent to 3,335.86.
Among sectors, Holding Firms rose 0.68 percent and Property gained 0.04 percent. Mining and Oil led the laggards with a 0.72 percent decline, followed by Financials at 0.55 percent, Services at 0.49 percent, and Industrial at 0.13 percent.
Total trading volume reached 2.47 billion shares valued at PHP8.95 billion. Advancers slightly outpaced decliners, 92 to 91, while 54 stocks remained unchanged.
“The market’s downward trend reflects growing inflation concerns amid the uncertain duration of the US-Israel-Iran conflict,” said Philstocks Financial Inc.
The BSP maintained key policy rates in an off-cycle Thursday meeting but raised the 2026 inflation forecast from 3.6 percent to 5.1 percent due to global tensions in the Middle East.
The peso closed weaker at 60.55 to the U.S. dollar, down from 60.23, after trading between 60.28 and 60.57, with an average of 60.38. Dollar trading surged to USD1.34 billion from USD1.17 billion the previous day.
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