ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Business devider The Stock Market devider Stocks slump as BSP rate hike, abrupt US-Iran delay rattle investors

Stocks slump as BSP rate hike, abrupt US-Iran delay rattle investors

Published Jun 19, 2026 04:35 pm
Local equities market retreated at the end of the week as investors pared back risk following the central bank's hawkish policy stance and the sudden disruption to geopolitical diplomatic efforts in Europe.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) slipped 18.31 points, or 0.3 percent, to close at 6,135.35 on Friday, June 19. Market breadth was firmly negative, with declining shares outnumbering gainers 111 to 81, while 48 issues remained unchanged.
Trading activity surged significantly, with volume climbing to a hefty 1.32 billion shares valued at ₱11.18 billion, driven partly by selective selling associated with the rebalancing of the FTSE Global Equity Index.
Investor sentiment was weighed down primarily by domestic monetary tightening after the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) raised its key policy interest rate by 25 basis points to 4.75 percent on Thursday.
The central bank also elevated its headline inflation forecasts to 6.4 percent for 2026 and 4.5 percent for 2027, signalling that price pressures from global commodity shocks remain deeply entrenched.
“The local bourse ended lower following the BSP’s 25-basis-point rate hike, as expectations of higher fixed-income yields reduced the appeal of equities,” said Luis Limlingan, managing director at Regina Capital Development Corp.
The macro outlook added fresh anxieties on the trading floor, with market participants anticipating an extended cycle of restrictive monetary policy.
Japhet Tantiangco, research manager at Philstocks Financial, noted that fears of subsequent interest rate hikes dampened buy-side momentum, particularly given the revised projections for persistent consumer price increases.
Geopolitical headwinds further exacerbated the risk-off mood. Preliminary implementation talks regarding the “Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding” between the United States and Iran, which were scheduled to begin Friday in the Swiss village of Obbürgen, were abruptly postponed. The postponement followed intense overnight military clashes between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.
“Concerns that the US-Iran memorandum of understanding is fragile and carries downside risks of reversing weighed heavily on the market,” Tantiangco added.
Michael L. Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., stated that the delayed negotiations regarding Iran's nuclear program and the broader security arrangement directly restricted regional market optimism, especially since Iran had previously positioned a Lebanese truce as a key condition for the preliminary deal.
Sector performance across the local exchange was mixed. Mining companies led the declines as global gold prices softened, while financial institutions bucked the broader downward trend.
Large-cap commercial lenders drew support from institutional inflows on widespread expectations that widening net interest margins will boost profitability in a higher interest rate environment.

Related Tags

Philippine Stock Exchange Regina Capital Development Corporation Luis Limlingan Philstocks Financial Japhet Tantiangco Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation Michael L. Ricafort
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ static_articles_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.