THE Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) started the week in positive territory on Monday, rising 0.43 percent or 25.88 points, to close at 5,986.85, as investors snapped up bargains following last Friday’s decline.
Meanwhile, the local currency opened the week weaker against the greenback, slipping back to the P61:$1 level.
The market opened strong on buying momentum but failed to sustain enough gains to push the PSEi to the 6,000 level, reflecting continued caution among investors amid lingering geopolitical uncertainty caused by the absence of a peace agreement between the United States and Iran.
Trading activity remained subdued, with net value turnover reaching only P5.05 billion, while foreign investors remained net sellers with outflows amounting to P146.61 million.
Luis Limlingan, head of sales at Regina Capital Development Corp., said the market recovered from Friday’s losses as strong buying activity in the morning session lifted sentiment.
He added, however, that gains were tempered by afternoon profit-taking, while investors remained selective as more listed firms released their first-quarter earnings results.
Philstocks Financial Inc. research manager Japhet Tantiangco said the market’s inability to break past the 6,000 resistance level and the weak trading turnover showed that investors were still taking a cautious stance.
Property stocks led sectoral gains, advancing 1.89 percent, while mining and oil shares posted the steepest decline at 1.81 percent.
Market breadth was slightly negative, with 100 decliners against 91 advancers, while 73 issues were unchanged.
Among index members, Puregold Price Club, Inc. led the gainers, climbing 4.78 percent to P46.00, while DigiPlus Interactive Corp. was the biggest laggard, falling 5.40 percent to P12.96.
For its part, the peso weakened by 53.7 centavos to P61.15 from Friday’s P60.613:$1. It opened at P61.65:$1 and ranged from P60.58 to P61.15. Trading volume reached P1.511 billion, down from the previous P1.907 billion.
Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael Ricafort said the peso weakened following the latest year-on-year decline in net foreign direct investment (FDI) data as of February 2026, which dropped to $590 million, down 30.9 percent from the year-earlier $855 million.
He added that was also caused partly by the recent political noise. Nazylen Joy Mabanglo with Niña Myka Pauline Arceo
