Philippine stocks declined Wednesday as investors turned cautious ahead of policy meetings by the U.S. Federal Reserve and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
The 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) slipped by 16.70 points, or 0.28 percent, to 5,959.94 while the broader all shares index dipped by 3.51 points, or 0.10 percent, to 3,462.70.
The peso remained almost unchanged on Wednesday, closing at 59.21 to the U.S. dollar from 59.22 on Tuesday.
“The index pulled back after a two-day rally as the peso hit a record low and as investors stayed cautious ahead of rate cut decisions from the Fed and BSP,” AB Capital Securities said.
The higher unemployment data also weighed on investor sentiment.
The government reported that unemployment rate was estimated at 5 percent in October 2025 from 3.9 percent in the same month last year but lower than 5.3% in July.
“The labor market is recovering but facing headwinds—more Filipinos are looking for work yet unemployment is creeping up,” veteran stockbroker Jonathan Ravelas said.
“Services and hospitality and hospitality are bright spots while retail is shrinking. For businesses, this means doubling down in growth sectors and invest in skills development,” he added.
Sectors were mixed with mining and oil index increasing by 1.23 percent while holding firms declined the most, decreasing by 0.54 percent.
Value turnover remained light at P5.81 billion. Decliners edged advancers 100 to 93.
Foreign selling persisted as outflows reached P787 million.
Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. was the day’s top index gainer, up 2.8 percent to P66 while Converge ICT Solutions Inc. was at the bottom, down 3.23 percent to P14.36.
