Manila, Feb 28, 2026, 16:43 PHT — The market has closed.
Philippine equities wrapped up the week with gains as the PSEi rose 2.26% over the stretch ending Feb. 27, though the index faded late, dipping 0.21% on Friday to close at 6,611.24. Foreigners picked up more local stocks than they unloaded, netting approximately 5.07 billion pesos in inflows for the period. Sectorwise, services along with mining and oil posted the strongest advances, according to Philippine Stock Exchange figures.
The shift is notable—stocks had just touched fresh highs before retreating. On Thursday, the PSEi booked its strongest finish in over 14 months, buoyed by solid earnings sentiment and a stronger peso. “Supported by upbeat earnings releases,” said Luis A. Limlingan, Regina Capital Development Corp. head of sales. For Philstocks Financial’s research manager Japhet Louis O. Tantiangco, the driver was “optimistic expectations” for full-year results. BusinessWorld Online
Friday snapped the streak, with the PSEi off by 14.22 points—property names took the heaviest hit, while only holding firms managed gains. Turnover clocked in at 13.18 billion pesos. Foreigners came in as net buyers, picking up 915.72 million pesos. Aboitiz Equity Ventures finished up 4.43%. AREIT, though, dropped 3.22%, per the Daily Tribune.
Macro news weighed on the session. The country’s trade-in-goods deficit came in at $4.05 billion for January, down 17.8% from a year ago, according to preliminary figures from the Philippine Statistics Authority. Exports jumped 7.9%, while imports slipped 3.1%. Cid Terosa, senior economist at the University of Asia and the Pacific, pointed to sluggish domestic demand dragging imports—hardly conditions for a one-way move in equities. BusinessWorld Online
Inflation remains top of mind for investors. The central bank projected February’s figure somewhere between 2.3% and 3.1%, pointing to rising costs for rice, fish, and fuel, plus steeper electricity bills. Still, lower prices on vegetables, fruits, and meat, plus a stronger peso, might blunt some of the impact. Philippine Information Agency
Earnings are carrying some weight here. BDO Unibank reported a 6.28% jump in 2025 net income, hitting a record 87.17 billion pesos. Still, shares slipped 0.87% Friday to 137.30 pesos, according to a disclosure. BusinessWorld Online
The index edged closer to 6,600 on Thursday, driven by gains in several blue chips. Ayala Land jumped 2.92% and SM Prime climbed 2.33%. PLDT posted a 1.42% increase, but Metrobank slipped 1.41%, according to BusinessWorld’s PSEi member-stock snapshot.
Once again, the market may be getting ahead of itself. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas trimmed its policy rate to 4.25% on Feb. 19, but Governor Eli Remolona warned that the outlook is still up in the air. That uncertainty keeps traders on edge for any hint of higher inflation or shifts in global rates that could rattle the peso and spark outflows. Reuters
The market’s closed for the weekend. Eyes now turn to foreign inflows once trading restarts, and whether earnings growth is strong enough to handle any bouts of profit-taking. Watch property and REITs, too — they look vulnerable if funding-cost expectations move again.
All eyes now turn to the February inflation report dropping March 5, a release that could shake up peso trading and rate bets in a hurry. Should the numbers come in strong, talk will likely heat up again about whether the central bank really has room to keep cutting as much as markets are hoping. GMA Network
