Shares down ahead of BSP rate decision

February 11, 2025 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — Investors stayed on the sidelines ahead of the policy meeting of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas later this week.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index fell by 1.92 percent or 117.87 points to close yesterday’s session at 6,037.12, while the broader All Shares index dropped by 1.27 percent or 46.37 points to end at 3,617.27.

“Philippine shares kicked off the trading week in the red as investors await the latest MSCI rebalancing results, while others will be taking cues from fresh new economic data and possibly more developments on the geopolitical front,” Luis Limlingan of Regina Capital said.

Limlingan said that the BSP’s Monetary Board interest rate decision on Feb. 13 is expected to take center stage on the local front this week.

Analysts widely expect the central bank to slash its benchmark interest rates by 25 basis points as policymakers would likely shift focus from inflation control to supporting economic growth.

This is on the back of the weaker-than-expected gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the fourth quarter of 2024, alongside a stable inflation environment, as key justifications for the anticipated rate cut.

Yesterday’s session registered a net value turnover of P5.1 billion. Foreigners were net sellers with net outflows amounting to P438.2 million.

All counters were in the negative territory, except for mining and oil which increased by 0.90 percent.

Property and financials were the biggest losers, plummeting by 2.43 percent and 2.42 percent, respectively.

Market breadth was negative as decliners crushed advancers, 111 to 78, while 44 issues were unchanged.

BDO Unibank was the session’s most actively traded stock, declining by 2.24 percent to P135.60 per share, followed by ICTSI which shed 2.68 percent to P348.60.

JG Summit lost the most among index members with a 6.3-percent drop, while Alliance Global recorded the highest jump at 1.76 percent.