Trading at the Philippine Stock Exchange is expected to remain volatile in this shortened trading week, on heightened possibility of a US interest rate hike before the end of the year.
Analysts said the strong third-quarter US gross domestic product growth report could push the Federal Reserve to implement another round of rate increase in December.
The US economy expanded 2.9 percent in the third quarter from a year ago, the fastest growth recorded over the past two years.
Investors are also focusing on the upcoming US presidential elections in November and results of the third-quarter earnings report of listed firms.
“Chartwise, the last week’s close at 7,404.80 signals the recent rally towards the 7,721.51 as a mere technical rebound. Continue to see the market to range between the 7,300 and 7,500 levels in the week ahead,” BDO Unibank chief investment strategist Jonathan Ravelas said.
The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index fell 3.2 percent over last week’s five-day market trading to close at 7,404.80 on Friday, while the broader all-share index declined 2.7 percent to 4,398.58, as investors remained cautious ahead of the third-quarter corporate earnings and higher expectations of a rate hike in the US.
All six sectors ended in the red, led by property and services which both went down by 3.9 percent while holding firms and financial companies posted declines of 3.2 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively.
Despite the huge drop in the market last week, the PSEi was still up by 6.5 percent in the first 10 months of the year.
Foreign investors were net sellers last week of P2.25 billion, as they sold P19.9 billion worth of shares compared to P17.73 billion that they bought.
Top gainers last week were casino operator Bloomberry Resorts Corp. which climbed 2.3 percent to P5.92 and port operator International Container Terminal Services Inc. which went up by 2.2 to P77.80. Both companies are owned by billionaire Enrique Razon.
Heavy losers included holding firms GT Capital Holdings Inc. which declined by 7.7 percent to P1,311, Alliance Global Group Inc. which went down by 6.7 percent to P14.56 and DMCI Holdings Inc. which dropped 6.3 percent to P12.50.