Philippine shares fell to their lowest level of the year on October 1, with the benchmark index closing down 1.03% as worries over economic growth and quickening inflation soured sentiment, The Manila Times reported on October 1.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index shed 58.92 points to finish at 5,679.48, a third consecutive session of losses and the weakest close in more than 10 months. Michael Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp, said the index had not traded at that level since November 14, 2025.

Japhet Tantiangco, research manager at Philstocks Financial Inc, said growth concerns dominated trading, pointing to the possible effect of a severe El Niño on public infrastructure spending in early 2027.

Luis Limlingan, head of sales at Regina Capital Development Corp, said investors also stayed cautious after the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas warned that inflation may have accelerated to as much as 7.4% in September from 6.1% in August. The warning raised questions about the implications for monetary policy and growth, he said.

Tantiangco added that weak cues from Wall Street, rising long-term US Treasury yields and a softer peso also dragged on local equities.

The peso weakened for a third straight session, closing at PHP62.64 to the dollar from PHP62.565 the previous day. Ricafort said high US Treasury yields, with the 10-year at 5.21% and the 30-year at 5.55%, continued to favour the dollar through better returns.

He also cited net foreign selling of PHP2.85bn ($45mn) in local equities, a planned PHP30bn retail treasury bond offering and the Mynt initial public offering scheduled for October as factors affecting peso liquidity. Dollar inflows tied to the bond sale and a Mitsubishi Corp transaction involving Ayala Corp could lend the currency some support, he said.

Net value turnover rose to PHP7.90bn, with foreign investors booking PHP950.67mn in net outflows, according to Tantiangco.

Decliners outnumbered gainers 106 to 74, with 71 issues unchanged. Holding firms were the only sector to gain, up 0.21%, while services dropped 1.21%.