Investors keeping cautious mode

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April 20, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines —  Investors are expected to remain on a “wait-and-see” mode this week amid concerns over geopolitical uncertainties.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) finished in red territory last Friday at 5,999.13, down by 1.62 percent week-on-week.

First Metro Investment Corp. head of research Cristina Ulang said the market is optimistic a US-Iran ceasefire extension and news of a reopened Strait of Hormuz announced over the weekend could reverse last week’s losses.

“But sustainability of reopening will be closely watched. Any early reversal or constraints will disappoint market dip buyers,” she said.

After briefly reopening the critical waterway, however, Iran swiftly reversed course and reimposed restrictions on ships’ passage as it blamed a US blockade early last week.

Philstocks Financial research manager Japhet Tantiangco said that while ceasefire agreements spark hopes of negotiations, investors are also aware that tensions may still reignite.

“Investors took profits after a two week rally causing the local market to pull back last week. This shows that investors are still moving with caution as economic risks remain due to the war in the Middle East,” he said.

According to Tantiangco, the local market is still deemed to be at bargain levels, with the PSEi  trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.1x as of its April 17 closing.

Tantiangco said the local market’s movement would depend on the developments on the situation between the US and Iran.

“Positive developments, primarily ones pointing to a deal between the US and Iran, are expected to drive the local market higher. However, lack of such, more so a deterioration of the situation between the two, is expected to bring the market lower,” Tantiangco said.

Unicapital Securities head of research Wendy Estacio-Cruz, for her part, said the PSEI’s drop last week showed that most investors were sitting on their hands due to the uncertainties coming out of the Middle East.

Looking ahead, she said investors are expected to closely monitor the upcoming Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas policy meeting.