Stocks snap skid ahead of BSP meeting

Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!

Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.

Visit Suniway.ph to learn

February 19, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines —   The local stock market snapped a three-day losing streak as investors shopped for bargains ahead of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)’s much-awaited policy rate decision.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) advanced by 0.41 percent or 26.22 points to finish yesterday’s session at 6,394.77.

The broader All Shares index also improved by 0.42 percent or 14.76 points, ending at 3,542.05.

Luis Limlingan of Regina Capital said the PSEi closed higher as bargain hunters stepped in following three consecutive days of decline.

“Investors appeared to position themselves ahead of the BSP policy rate decision on Feb. 19. The rebound was driven by selective buying in key index names amid cautious optimism over the central bank’s next move,” he said.

The BSP’s Monetary Board is widely anticipated to deliver another 25-basis-point rate cut today.

All counters were in the positive territory, except for industrial, which declined by 0.72 percent. Leading the charge, meanwhile, was the services index, which jumped by 1.65 percent.

Trading remained tepid with total turnover value amounting to P5.19 billion.

Advancers edged out decliners, 101 to 93, while 63 issues were unchanged.

ICTSI was the session’s top traded stock, rising by 1.74 percent to P671.50 per share, followed by Semirara Mining and Power Corp. (SMPC) and DMCI, which continued their plunge.

SMPC ’s share price plummeted by 13.6 percent to P22.55, while that of DMCI fell by 7.61 percent to P8.50.