Stocks plunge ahead of BSP policy meeting

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June 18, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines —  Sustained profit taking resulted in a steep drop in the local stock market yesterday ahead of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) policy meeting, where an interest rate hike is expected.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index plunged by 2.1 percent or 130.94 points, ending the session at 6,114.81.

The broader All Shares index also fell by 1.27 percent or 43.53 points to close at 3,381.50.

Luis Limlingan of Regina Capital said the market opted for continued profit taking following the sharp increase in the index.

Limlingan said market players also lightened their positions ahead of the BSP’s interest rate decision.

“Investors remained cautious as they awaited further cues from monetary policy developments,” Limlingan said.

All sectors were in the red, except for financials, which gained by 1.37 percent.

Services took the biggest hit, losing by 4.59 percent, followed by holding firms, which plunged by 2.67 percent.

Total turnover value thinned to P8.26 billion from the previous day’s P11.8 billion.

Market breadth remained negative as decliners outnumbered advancers, 90 to 72, while 62 issues were unchanged.

ICTSI was the session’s most actively traded stock, plummeting by 6.25 percent to P900 per share, followed by BDO Unibank with a 3.58-percent jump to P133.

Shares of Globe surged by 5.05 percent to P1,809 following the announcement of a GCash initial public offering pushing through, while Ayala Land’s stock price climbed by 4.92 percent to P13.64 after its parent Ayala Corp. said it purchased P457.45 million worth of shares in the company.