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Overseas news
In the US, Wall Street ended the final trading session of 2025 lower. However, major indices still posted strong annual gains in a year filled with tariff uncertainties and enthusiasm for AI stocks.
The technology sector has historically been an important segment for the Nasdaq and other stock indices, given the amount of money involved in the buying and selling of shares here.
Further, initial claims for state unemployment benefits for the week ended December 27 dropped unexpectedly by 16,000 to a seasonally adjusted 199,000. This figure is the lowest since the end of November.
While there are several ways to define unemployment, the usual US method considers people who are actively looking for work and are available for hiring. Having fewer unemployed individuals often means that the economy is doing well.
Meanwhile, China’s factory activity unexpectedly grew in December. The Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for the manufacturing industry rose to 50.1 from 49.2 in November due to higher pre-holiday orders.
PMI shows if market conditions are seen as expanding (index over 50), staying the same (index at 50), or contracting (index under 50).
Local developments
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) forecasted headline inflation to fall within the 1.2%-2% range in December. If accurate, this would be due mostly to lower electricity prices offsetting costlier food items.
Headline inflation looks at price changes in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). This is a standard “basket” of goods and services that a typical family spends on.
In addition, the Philippine national government’s gross borrowings surged 74.55% to reach P113.53 billion in November due to a sharp increase in both domestic and foreign borrowing.
“Gross borrowings” is the term used to refer to the combined total of all debt of an organization or government.
The news at the start of the year doesn’t hint at big changes happening soon. This might not be the time to make big portfolio decisions.
