Stock market up, peso down on first trading day of 2025

Philippine financial markets opened 2025 on a mixed note, with equities up while the peso depreciated on the first trading day of the year, as players digested economic data releases and the end of the holiday season.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) gained 21.60 points or 0.33% to 6,550.39 at the closing bell, while the broader All Shares index grew by 6.59 points or 0.18% to 3,755.10.

Two of the six sectoral indices—financials and services—closed in the green while the industrial, holding firms, property, and mining and oil indices closed in the red.

More than 1.114 billion shares, valued at P3.240 billion, changed hands. Excluding extraordinary block shares, value turnover stood at P2.802 billion. Decliners led advancers, 97 to 94, while 47 issues were unchanged.

“On the domestic front, investors are closely monitoring the release of the December S&P Global Manufacturing PMI,” Luis Limlingan, head of sales at Regina Capital Development Corp., said in a mobile message.

The headline S&P Global Philippines Manufacturing PMI stood at 54.3 in December, higher than the 53.8 in November. This matches the same reading recorded in April 2022, and the joint strongest since November 2017.

Weaker peso

The Philippine peso, meanwhile, weakened against the greenback as it shed 6.5 centavos to close at P57.91:$1 versus the close of P57.845:$1 on December 27, 2024, the last trading day of the previous year.

“The US dollar/peso exchange rate corrected slightly higher for the first trading day of 2025… after the seasonal increase in OFW remittances and conversion to pesos for the Yuletide season or holiday-related spending already done and over with after the long holiday weekend,” Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael Ricafort said in a separate mobile message.

Latest data available from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) show that cash remittances—money transfers through banks or formal channels—stood at $3.079 billion in October, up from $3.009 billion in September. — BM, GMA Integrated News