While stock markets in Taiwan, South Korea, the United States, Europe, and Vietnam have all recorded gains over the past decade, the Philippine Stock Exchange index remains the only major benchmark to have declined — and it has done so across every key time frame measured.
The PSEi closed at 5,821.51 on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, according to a Daily Tribune market report. That figure is 4.5 percent lower than the index's close of 6,093.53 recorded one year prior, as reported by the Manila Bulletin.
Declines Extend Across Every Measured Period
According to Philippine Stock Exchange weekly reports, the PSEi sits 5.2 percent below its October 20, 2023 close of 6,142.90 and 20.4 percent below its October 21, 2021 close of 7,311.72.
The ten-year picture is starker. The PSEi has fallen approximately 24 percent from its October 21, 2016 level of 7,650.22 — a figure derived from an Inquirer report showing the index dropped 40.91 points to 7,609.31 on the following trading day, October 24, 2016.
Taiwan, Wall Street, and Seoul Post Strong Returns
Over the same 12-month span in which the PSEi dropped 4.5 percent, Taiwan's TAIEX surged 69 percent to 46,887.77, based on Taiwan Stock Exchange data and a Focus Taiwan closing report. South Korea's KOSPI posted a 50-percent gain over that same period.
In the United States, the Nasdaq-100 rose 19 percent while the S&P 500 gained 15 percent, according to Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED) data and Associated Press closing reports. Europe's Euro Stoxx 50 advanced 9 percent, and Vietnam's VN-Index added 5 percent.
Over ten years, the Nasdaq-100 is up roughly 515 percent, the TAIEX approximately 404 percent, the S&P 500 about 262 percent, the KOSPI around 182 percent, and the Euro Stoxx 50 about 102 percent. All figures reflect price changes in local currency and exclude dividends.
Viral Bloomberg Table Contains Inaccurate Figures
A table attributed to Bloomberg and labelled "as of Oct. 21, 2026" has been circulating on social media, but its numbers do not match verified closing data for that date. The table places the PSEi's one-year decline at 9 percent, whereas actual data show the drop at approximately 4.5 percent. The table also understates one-year gains for both Taiwan and South Korea.
According to Trading Economics, the PSEi did briefly approach those steeper losses in mid-October, when it had fallen about 8 percent from a year earlier — its lowest point since May 2020. The index has since partially recovered from that trough.
BSP Delivers Surprise 50-Basis-Point Rate Increase
On Thursday, October 22, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas raised its key interest rate by 50 basis points to 5.5 percent, a move larger than markets had anticipated, The Manila Times reported. BSP Governor Eli Remolona Jr. stated that the hike was not intended as a defense of the peso.
The peso nonetheless settled at a record low of P63.52 against the dollar that same day, while the PSEi fell 0.72 percent to 5,779.73.
Regina Capital Development Corp.'s Luis Limlingan said the rate increase reflected caution over persistent inflation and raised concerns about higher borrowing costs and their drag on economic activity. Chinabank Research economist Domini Velasquez said rate hikes alone may be insufficient to support the peso, and that a recovery in the currency depends more on restoring confidence in the domestic economy.
Prior to the BSP decision, BPI lead economist Emilio Neri Jr. told the Daily Tribune that the policy rate could climb to 6 percent by year-end should tensions in the Middle East escalate further.
September Inflation Hits Fastest Rate Since March 2023
Headline inflation accelerated to 7.2 percent in September from 6.1 percent in August — the highest reading since March 2023 — according to Philippine Statistics Authority data cited by GMA News. The average inflation rate for 2026 so far stands at 5.4 percent, above the government's 2-to-4-percent target band.
Department of Economy, Planning, and Development Secretary Arsenio Balisacan attributed the September spike primarily to food supply disruptions brought on by adverse weather conditions and elevated global oil prices.
Source: Daily Tribune, Manila Bulletin, Philippine Stock Exchange, The Manila Times, GMA News, Associated Press, Focus Taiwan, FRED