Share prices are expected to keep moving sideways this week, as investors await the release of second-quarter corporate earnings reports and President Rodrigo Duterte’s State-of-the-Nation-Address.
Analysts said investors were waiting for the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index to break out from the current consolidation mode, before going back to the market. A factor that could push the market higher would be the positive second-quarter reports of listed companies, they said.
Listed firms are scheduled to start releasing their second-quarter financial performance in the fourth week of July.
Investors are also looking forward to President Duterte’s speech on July 24 which would spell out his plan for the next 12 months.
“At this stage, the market is waiting for the PSEi to break out from its present trading range, especially with supply coming out every time barometers near the 8,000 mark. Any hint on the commencement of infra spending and efforts to support corporate earnings growth will reinforce investors’ valuation perception, especially those in the hunt for better returns,” 2TradeAsia.com said.
The PSEi last week closed flat at 7885.90. The market started the week strong, spurred by US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s statement that the Fed would adopt a gradual approach to raising interest rates. But the gains were eventually wiped out due to profit-taking.
Foreign investors were net sellers last week by P862 million, while average daily turnover thickened to P8 billion from the previous week’s average of P6 billion.
Among the top gainers last week were Lucio Tan-owned companies LT Group Inc. which jumped 15 percent to P17.88 and MacroAsia Corp. which advanced 14.1 percent to P9.70. Filinvest Land Inc. climbed 11.5 percent to P1.93.
Heavy losers included Metro Retail Stores Group Inc. which dropped 17 percent to P4.29, Travellers International Hotel Group Inc. which declined 4.8 percent to P3.53 and Energy Development Corp. which dipped 4.8 percent to P5.76.