Stocks to seek stronger foothold

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February 16, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — The local stock market will attempt to further solidify its rally this week, with investors keeping a close watch on the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)’s upcoming policy rate decision.

Despite some recent runs and touching the 6,500 levels shortly last week, the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) still ended in the red last Friday at 6,384.58.

Week-on-week, the PSEi slipped by 0.10 percent, while the broader All Shares index was down by 0.67 percent.

“The PSEi retreated on Friday as investors continued to lock in gains following the index’s recent run-up. Market participants largely stayed on the sidelines, awaiting clearer signals from both domestic and global developments before committing to new positions,” Unicapital Securities head of research Wendy Estacio-Cruz said.

She said aside from corporate earnings, the market is also anticipating the BSP’s policy rate decision on Feb. 19, which could serve as the next key catalyst for equities.

“We are pricing in at least a 25-basis point rate cut from the central bank.”

For Philstocks Financial research manager Japhet Tantiangco, another policy rate cut by the BSP may spur positive sentiment in the market.

He said investors would also monitor the movement of the local currency with a further appreciation expected to give the market a boost.

“From a marketability standpoint, the local market is still at attractive levels. As of Friday’s closing, the market’s price-to-earnings ratio stands at 10.7x, below its historical average of 14.4x and the regional average of 19.2x,” Tantiangco said.

First Metro Investment Corp. head of research Cristina Ulang, meanwhile, said a selloff could continue early this week “but bargain hunters will be quick to emerge as this is looking like more of a buy-on-dips market.”

She said 6,600 could be the next target for the market.

2TradeAsia.com, the online arm of F. Yap Securities Inc., sees immediate support at 6,300, while resistance is at 6,500.

“We expect trades in the near- to medium-term to remain catalyst-driven, prioritizing industries with clear commodity tailwinds or structural resilience as the market digests the current policy uncertainty,” the online brokerage firm said.