PSE Index Ends January Plummeting In Black Friday Sell-down

The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) index Friday plummeted by three levels, marking the second-worst loss since the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) Index, January 31, 2025

Financials were the sole gainers, driven by the inclusion of China Bank in the PSE index basket, which closed at 5,862.59 points, down by 245.07 points or 4.01 percent, as many blue-chip stocks posted significant losses.

This was the second-lowest index decline since the Black Thursday loss during the COVID-19 pandemic, when it fell to 5,736.27 points, down 616.99 points or 9.71 percent.

The smaller loss compared to the COVID-era decline was due to the rise in financials, spurred by a 38.91 percent gain for China Bank, which rose by P26.05 to P93, thanks to its inclusion in the PSE index.

China Bank emerged as the most active stock, with P5.5 billion in trades.

Another inclusion in the PSE index was AREIT, which posted a 7.69 percent gain to P42, up by P3 on trades of P2.782 billion, making it the second-most active stock. AREIT and China Bank replaced Wilcon Depot, which fell by 14 centavos, or 1.64 percent, to P8.40, and Nickel Asia, which lost 47 centavos, or 17.8 percent, to P2.17.

Many blue-chip stocks posted double-digit losses as a result of the economic downturn reflected in GDP numbers, leading to the sell-down.

Also a factor was the rebalancing of the index by both foreign and local funds. San Miguel Corp. fell by a significant P16.30 to P65.20, down by 20 percent. Similarly, Alliance Global's share price dropped by P1.50 to P6.

Other major losers included Roxas and Co., down by 15.64 percent; Bloomberry, down by 13.60 percent; Emperador, down by 11.18 percent; and Century Food, down by 10.28 percent.

The financials sector rose by 1.05 percent, while industrials lost 5.40 percent. Holding firms declined by 3.64 percent, services fell by 1.17 percent, mining and oil dropped by 6.57 percent, and property decreased by 3.74 percent.

Market bellwether SM Investments retreated to a new low of P780, down by 1.89 percent or P15, on trades of P972 million, after reaching a high of P816.50 following the opening trade.

Foreign buying amounted to P10.12 billion, while foreign selling reached P9.53 billion, resulting in net foreign buying of P594 million. Total foreign trades amounted to P19.66 billion, while value turnover reached P21.6 billion.

There were 135 losers, 76 gainers, and 42 stocks unchanged.

Among the losers were ICTSI, BDO Unibank, Security Bank, SM Prime, Macroasia, Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), Meralco, Manila Water, Citicore RE, Petron, Semirara Mining, Shell Pilipinas, Synergy Grid, and Figaro Coffee.

Joining the list of stocks in the red were Jollibee Foods, Universal Robina, Ayala Corp., Cosco Capital, DMC Holdings, LT Group, Citicore RT, DoubleDragon, Vista Land, Megaworld, Globe Telecom, Converge, Dito CME, Bloomberry, Puregold, Robinsons Retail, SSI Group, Philex Mining, Atlas Mining, Ferronickel, and Nickel Asia.

Among the gainers were PLDT, Phinma, East West, Union Bank, Megawide, Vitarich, MREIT, Macroasia, Philweb, Oceana Gold, Haus Talk, Ginebra, First Gen, AgriNurture, Keepers Holdings, Cebu Air, SMC Food and Beverage, PSE, AboitizPower, and Boulevard Holdings.

The stocks that remained unchanged were PNB, Abacore, D&L Industries, Cemex Holdings, and GMA-7.