Philippine stocks fell to their lowest level this year on Thursday while the peso weakened against the US dollar after the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and S&P Global Ratings cut their economic growth forecasts for the Philippines.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) dropped 1.12% to 5,730.02 points, while the broader All Shares index declined 1.10% to 3,210.72.
Luis Limlingan, head of sales at Regina Capital Development Corp., attributed the market decline to selling pressure following the growth forecast revisions.
“Market sentiment weakened further after S&P Global Ratings and the ADB (Asian Development Bank) sharply downgraded their Philippine growth forecasts for the year,” Limlingan said.
The ADB on Wednesday lowered its 2026 Philippine growth forecast to 3.3% from 3.8%, citing tighter global conditions, an expected strong El Niño beginning in the fourth quarter and energy-related issues linked to the Middle East crisis.
S&P Global Ratings also cut its forecast to 2.9% from 4.1%, citing slower domestic output in the first half of the year.
Limlingan said the revisions added to concerns over the pace of the local market’s recovery.
Among sectoral indices, only Holding Firms advanced, rising 0.43%.
Mining and Oil posted the biggest decline at 3.79%, followed by Industrial at 1.65%, Services at 1.52%, Financials at 1.33% and Property at 1.15%.
Trading remained thin, with 863.67 million shares changing hands with a total value turnover of nearly P5.1 billion.
Decliners outnumbered advancers, 131 to 61, while 57 issues ended unchanged.
The peso also weakened, closing at P62.73 against the US dollar from P62.58 in the previous session.
The local currency opened at P62.70 and traded between P62.70 and P62.79 during the day, with a daily average of P62.75.
Trading volume reached $1.14 billion, lower than the $1.64 billion recorded the previous day.
Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael Ricafort expects the peso to trade between P62.60 and P62.80 against the US dollar on Friday.
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