Trading at the Philippine Stock Exchange is expected to remain volatile this week as investors anticipate more market drama in the coming weeks amid concerns of rising interest and inflation rates and the continued depreciation of the peso, which could weaken the overall economic growth.
With the index dropping below the 7,000-point level last week, BDO Unibank Inc. chief investment strategist Jonathan Ravelas said there was still room for the market to try the 6,500-point mark.
“Expect some bargain hunting at those levels but could be limited towards the 7,100/7,300 levels. Otherwise, the next key level for the market is 6,000 once the 6,500 levels give way,” Ravelas said.
While the movement of Philippine shares would continue to take their cue from Wall Street’s performance, online brokerage firm 2TradeAsia.com said investors should be reminded that the country’s economic fundamentals remained intact.
“What has been cast aside however is economic growth. This fundamental has been clouded by emotions that whipsawed Wall Street, prodding some to give in to their emotional whim and quickly press the panic button,” 2TradeAsia.com said.
“Bottom line: economic growth remains supported with employment generation in line with targets, as more weight is being allotted on the fiscal side,” it added.
The Philippine Stock Exchange Index last week dropped 1 percent to 7,004.77 on volatile trading both here and abroad, while the All Shares Index declined 1.4 percent to 4,301.80.
The index hit an intra-week low of 6,790.58, the lowest level in 21 months, before returning to the 7,000-point level. The PSEi year-to-date is now down 18.2 percent.
Sectoral indices ended mixed, with the industrial and mining and oil indices posting week-on-week gains, the while financials, holding firms, services and property registered week-on-week declines.
Foreign investors were net sellers by P2.77 billion, while the average daily value traded stood at P4.8 billion.
Weekly top price gainers were ISM Communications Corp., which rose 18.7 percent to P2.92; Jollibee Foods Corp., which advanced 6.1 percent to P262; and Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc., which climbed 2.5 percent to P80.
Weekly top price losers, meanwhile, include Now Corp., which dropped 23.1 percent to P5.60; Holcim Philippines Inc., which dropped 12.4 percent to P5.85; and GT Capital Holdings Inc., which fell 8.3 percent to P700.
Global stock markets, meanwhile, attempted to rebound Friday with mixed results one day after ferocious losses sparked by worries over rising US interest rates and the fallout from trade fights.
Wall Street stocks finished a gloomy week on a high note, with the S&P 500 advancing 1.4 percent. But the session was hardly drama-free and included a midday swoon that briefly took the Dow into negative territory.
Even with Friday’s gains, the S&P 500 lost 4.1 percent for the week, its worst since March.
Asia enjoyed healthy gains, with Hong Kong surging 2.1 percent, Shanghai up 0.9 percent and Tokyo adding 0.5 percent, at the end of a bruising week for investors worldwide. With AFP