Philippine stocks tumbled on Monday as ongoing conflict in the Middle East weighed heavily on investor sentiment, while the peso also lost ground against the US dollar.
The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) dropped by 1.92% to close at 6,218.28. The broader All Shares index also declined, shedding 1.44% to end at 3,706.56.
“Philippine shares were dragged back to the 6,200 level, mirroring the broader global market sell-off amid escalating Middle East tensions,” said Luis Limlingan, head of sales at Regina Capital Development Corp. “The situation worsened as former US President Donald Trump’s involvement stoked further uncertainty, with the US now reportedly entering the conflict.”
Limlingan added that investors will be closely watching upcoming economic indicators this week, including May trade data and second-quarter consumer confidence figures on Friday, as well as the government’s budget balance report on Thursday. These may offer insight into the country’s economic trajectory and fiscal policy stance.
All sectoral indices ended in the red, with Mining and Oil suffering the steepest drop at 3.48%.
Market breadth was negative, with 142 decliners outpacing 60 gainers.
In the currency market, the peso weakened to 57.58 per US dollar, down from Friday’s close of 57.17. It opened at 57.25 and ranged from 57.25 to 57.66 throughout the session. The day’s weighted average stood at 57.58.
Trading volume in the foreign exchange market also declined, with total transactions reaching $1.28 billion—down from the previous session’s $1.77 billion.
