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Overseas news
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq fell on Thursday due to weak tech earnings. In particular, Microsoft dropped 10% following disappointing cloud revenue and AI spending concerns.
The tech giant’s results put pressure on the larger technology sector, though partial recovery was seen later in the session.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq are among the largest and most significant stock indices in the US. Their movements typically reflect investor sentiment and expectations in the US stock markets.
Meanwhile, oil prices surged by about 3% to reach a 5-month peak. This happened as fears of US strikes on Iran threatened global supply.
Oil is an important resource since it plays a big part in manufacturing and transporting goods. Changes in oil prices can directly and indirectly affect businesses and consumers around the world.
Local developments
Economic growth fell to 3% in the 4th quarter of 2025 as the flood control scandal curbed public spending. This dragged the full-year expansion in gross domestic product (GDP) down to 4.4%.
The 2025 GDP growth is the weakest since the pandemic and is below target for a 3rd straight year. A country’s GDP is the value of everything it produces in a given period and so is a significant indicator of economic progress.
Additionally, the Department of Energy (DoE) is opening a 500,000-hectare offshore area in Southern Palawan for petroleum exploration.
The DoE will hold a pre-proposal conference on February 2 and will accept proposals from interested parties until March 16.
Further, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is drafting new rules to strengthen anti-money laundering oversight of cryptocurrencies. The BSP aims to close regulatory gaps left by older laws.
A BSP official said the planned regulations will complement the existing Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) to help deter financial crimes involving cryptocurrencies.
While there are negative developments in the latest news, there are no concrete signs of what will happen in the long run. For now, you may want to stay liquid and remain cautious with your investing decisions.
