Coverage period: Monday 17 August to Friday 21 August 2026
Data basis: local-market closes; weekly changes are measured against Friday 14 August
Five of the seven Asian markets tracked by PinchuTV rose last week, while two declined.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index led with a 3.55% gain. Vietnam’s VN Index rose 2.26%, and Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite Index added 1.93%. The Philippine Stock Exchange index fell 0.93%, while Singapore’s Straits Times Index declined 0.95%.
The Philippine market was closed on Friday 21 August for Ninoy Aquino Day, so its weekly endpoint is the Thursday 20 August close.
Seven Markets at a Glance
| Rank | Market | Index | 14 August | Week-end close | Weekly change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hong Kong | Hang Seng Index | 25,116.85 | 26,009.46 | +3.55% |
| 2 | Vietnam | VN Index | 1,729.08 | 1,768.12 | +2.26% |
| 3 | Indonesia | JCI | 6,401.89 | 6,525.69 | +1.93% |
| 4 | Malaysia | FBM KLCI | 1,727.39 | 1,736.48 | +0.53% |
| 5 | Thailand | SET Index | 1,609.06 | 1,613.78 | +0.29% |
| 6 | Philippines | PSEi | 6,297.30 | 6,238.46 | −0.93% |
| 7 | Singapore | STI | 5,743.59 | 5,688.96 | −0.95% |
The Philippine endpoint is 20 August; all other endpoints are 21 August. PinchuTV calculated the returns from the closing levels and rounded them to two decimal places.
Philippines: A Thursday Rebound Did Not Erase the Weekly Loss
The PSEi fell from 6,297.30 on 14 August to 6,238.46 on 20 August. That was a decline of 58.84 points, or 0.93%.
The route through the shortened week was uneven. The index closed at 6,261.80 on Monday and 6,264.70 on Tuesday. It then dropped 1.70% to 6,158.34 on Wednesday. Thursday brought an 80.12-point, or 1.30%, rebound, but the recovery was not enough to return the index to its previous Friday’s level.
PSE Edge recorded 113 advancers, 67 decliners and 66 unchanged shares on Thursday. The services index rose 2.61%, while mining and oil gained 5.04%. The final session therefore had positive breadth, even though the week remained negative.
The peso also weakened. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas reference rate moved from PHP61.289 per US dollar on 14 August to PHP61.866 on 20 August. A higher USD/PHP rate means a weaker peso; the depreciation was approximately 0.94%.
For the week, Philippine equities and the currency therefore moved in the same negative direction. That does not mean the decline was uninterrupted: Thursday’s equity rebound was substantial.
My Philippine Equity Portfolio: Down 11.93% Since Purchase
My account screen on the morning of 21 August showed a Philippine equity market value of PHP477,322.21 against a total cost of PHP541,978.90. The equity portfolio’s unrealised loss was PHP64,656.69, or 11.93%.
The investment-fund position was worth PHP3,512.17 and carried a small unrealised gain of PHP11.53. Including PHP119.37 in cash, the consolidated portfolio value was PHP480,953.75. The consolidated unrealised loss was PHP64,645.16, or 11.85%.
These are since-purchase unrealised returns, not the portfolio’s performance from 17 to 21 August. I do not have a complete set of the previous week-end values for every holding, so I have not presented an invented weekly portfolio return.
Eight of the 24 equity holdings were above cost and 16 were below cost. The largest positive contributions were DD at PHP12,523.65, LTG at PHP11,818.64 and PSE at PHP4,761.00. The largest negative contributions were JFC at PHP40,122.08, ALI at PHP20,390.71 and SM at PHP10,991.67.
JFC represented approximately 22.1% of the equity portfolio. The five largest positions — JFC, BDO, ALI, LTG and DD — accounted for approximately 53.1%. This concentration means that the movements of a few large holdings can matter more to the account than the PSEi’s headline change.
The account identifier is deliberately omitted. The figures shown by the broker are indicative and should be distinguished from official confirmation and account records.
Hong Kong: Five Consecutive Gains
The Hang Seng Index rose from 25,116.85 to 26,009.46, a weekly gain of 3.55%.
It advanced in all five sessions: 1.34% on Monday, small gains on Tuesday and Wednesday, 0.80% on Thursday and 1.21% on Friday. The index therefore recovered from the previous week’s 2.15% decline and finished back above 26,000.
The important observable point is that the rise was spread across the week rather than concentrated in one session. Price action alone does not prove a single cause, so the move should not be attributed to one headline without stronger evidence.
Vietnam: Friday Accounted for Most of the Weekly Gain
The VN Index rose from 1,729.08 to 1,768.12, gaining 2.26%.
It remained between roughly 1,727 and 1,734 from Monday to Thursday. On Friday, however, it jumped 33.88 points, or 1.95%. That session accounted for most of the week’s 39.04-point advance.
BSC Securities reported that 16 of 18 sectors rose on Friday and that foreign investors became net buyers on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange after six consecutive net-selling sessions. One positive session is not yet proof of a sustained change in foreign flows.
Indonesia: The JCI Rises as Bank Indonesia Holds
Indonesia’s JCI gained 1.93%, moving from 6,401.89 to 6,525.69.
At its 18–19 August meeting, Bank Indonesia kept the BI-Rate at 5.75%, the Deposit Facility rate at 4.75% and the Lending Facility rate at 6.50%. The central bank cited rupiah stability amid elevated global volatility, its inflation objective and sustainable growth.
The policy decision and the equity gain occurred in the same week, but timing alone does not establish that the rate decision was the sole cause of the market move.
Malaysia and Thailand: Modest Equity Gains, Slower Data
Malaysia’s FBM KLCI rose 0.53%. The Department of Statistics Malaysia reported that consumer prices increased 1.8% year on year in July, slowing from 1.9% in June.
Thailand’s SET Index gained 0.29%. It rose 1.08% on Monday but surrendered most of that increase later in the week. The National Economic and Social Development Council reported that second-quarter real gross domestic product grew 1.9% year on year, down from 2.8% in the first quarter.
Singapore: Monday’s Gain Gives Way to a Weekly Decline
Singapore’s STI fell from 5,743.59 to 5,688.96, a weekly loss of 0.95%.
The index climbed to 5,768.46 on Monday, but fell 1.16% on Tuesday and remained under pressure through Thursday. Friday’s 0.30% rebound reduced the loss but did not reverse it. Singapore finished only slightly behind the Philippines at the bottom of the seven-market ranking.
Three Takeaways
First, Hong Kong led with a 3.55% gain and rose in every session.
Second, Vietnam and Indonesia also gained around 2%, while the Philippines and Singapore fell by nearly 1%.
Third, the PSEi declined 0.93% and the peso weakened by approximately 0.94% against the US dollar.
My consolidated account remained 11.85% below cost, but that is a since-purchase figure rather than a weekly return. The most relevant portfolio-specific risks are the large weights in JFC and the other top holdings, alongside the peso and the wider Philippine market.
What to Watch from 24 to 28 August
- 27 August — BSP monetary policy meeting: the current target reverse repurchase rate is 4.75%. Published forecasts are divided between no change and a 25-basis-point increase, making the statement on inflation and the currency as important as the decision itself.
- 28 August — Philippine liquidity and bank-lending data: the BSP advance-release calendar lists July data for domestic liquidity and bank lending.
- Vietnam — follow-through after Friday’s rally: the key question is whether foreign net buying and stronger breadth continue beyond one session.
- Philippines — the PSEi and the peso: equities and the currency should be assessed separately after the policy decision; they do not have to move in the same direction.
Sources and Method
- Philippines: PSE Edge — Index Summary; PSEi historical data; PSE — Ninoy Aquino Day
- Peso: BSP — Daily Philippine Peso per US Dollar Rate
- Hong Kong: Hang Seng historical data
- Vietnam: VN Index historical data; BSC Securities — 21 August market brief
- Indonesia: JCI historical data; Bank Indonesia — August policy decision
- Malaysia: Malay Mail / Bernama — 21 August market close; DOSM — Consumer Price Index, July 2026
- Thailand: SET historical data; NESDC — Quarterly Economic Report Q2/2026
- Singapore: STI historical data; The Business Times — 21 August close
- Forthcoming events: BSP monetary policy calendar; BSP Advance Release Calendar
- Portfolio: the creator’s broker account screen viewed on the morning of 21 August 2026. The account identifier is omitted and the displayed values are treated as indicative.
Disclaimer: This article is market commentary based on public information and the creator’s own account display. It is not a recommendation to buy or sell any financial product. PinchuTV calculated the weekly index returns and portfolio weights. Figures were checked on 23 August 2026.