The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) ended the trading year at 6,528.79, down 476 points or 7.3 percent from the previous year’s closing price of 6,528.
The index was trading in the green for most of the day before a last-minute decline that saw stocks drop 12.72 points or 0.21 percent from Friday’s close. The all-shares index, on the other hand, rose 8.58 points or 0.25 percent to 3,473.24.
The peso closed at 58.79 to the U.S. dollar Friday, slightly weaker than the 58.71 close on Dec. 26.
“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 percent,” said Juan Paolo Colet, managing director at China Bank Capital.
“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,” he added.
Due to a mix of trade and economic issues both locally and abroad, as well as governance concerns in the Philippines, Colet said foreign investors were net sellers by around P51 billion for the year.
Value turnover was thin at P4.03 billion as most investors remained on holiday.
Financial markets will be closed Tuesday through Thursday. Trading will resume Jan. 2, 2026.
Asian equities were mixed Monday in quiet post-Christmas trading as investors look ahead to the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting this month, while precious metals retreated from record highs.
Markets looked set to end the last few days of the year on a positive note, helped by hopes for more US interest rate cuts and optimism that the tech-led rally still has more legs.
While the US central bank lowered borrowing costs earlier in December as expected, it also indicated it could stand pat when decision-makers gather again at the end of next month, with two voting against any move and one calling for a bigger reduction. With AFP
The minutes from the meeting are due to be released on Tuesday and traders will be poring over their contents for any indication about its plans for 2026.
The prospect of cuts has helped push world markets ever higher this year, offsetting niggling worries about stretched valuations in the tech sector.
On Monday, shares in Hong Kong, Tokyo, Sydney, Wellington, Mumbai and Bangkok slipped while those in Singapore, Seoul, Taipei and Manila edged up. Shanghai was marginally higher.
London rose at the open, while Paris was flat and Frankfurt edged up.
On commodities markets, gold and silver slipped after hitting new records in recent days.
The precious metals have also enjoyed strong buying, with gold and silver both hitting record highs on expectations for more rate cuts, which makes them more desirable to investors.
Their status as a safe haven asset in times of turmoil has also added to their allure amid geopolitical upheaval with US strikes in Nigeria and a blockade of Venezuelan oil tankers.
On Monday gold was sitting around $4,450, having peaked a whisker shy of $4,550 on Friday, while silver slipped to $77.00 after touching a record above $80.
The white metal has also seen a sharp run-up in recent weeks owing to surging demand and tight supply.
“We are witnessing a generational bubble playing out in silver,” wrote Tony Sycamore at IG.
“Relentless industrial demand from solar panels, EVs, AI data centers and electronics, pushing against depleting inventories, has driven physical premiums to extremes.”
Oil prices rose, having sunk more than two percent Friday as investors eyed the weekend meeting between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky on peace proposals.
Trump said Sunday a deal was closer than ever to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine but reported no apparent breakthrough on the issue of territory.
The US president said it would become clear within weeks whether it was possible to end the nearly four-year-long war that has killed tens of thousands. With AFP
