Share prices are expected to move sideways on a shortened trading week as investors look overseas for guidance.
The financial markets will be closed on Nov. 1 and 2 in observance of the ‘All Souls’ Day and ‘All Saints Day.’
P2P Trade Online trader Gabriel Jose Perez said investors would continue to monitor the performance of the US markets which would likely sway this week’s sentiment.
The initial support for the Philippine Stock Exchange Index remains at its most recent low of 6,790 points.
Other analysts, however, said investor sentiments might improve if indications showed inflation was starting to ease and corporate earnings exceeded expectations.
The Philippine Statistics Authority is scheduled to report on the October inflation rate on Nov. 6.
Government economic managers are expected to release their estimates this week.
The Philippines registered a nine-year high inflation rate of 6.7 percent in September, up from the government’s expectation of 4.5 percent.
The bellwether PSEi last week ended lower by 1.2 percent to 7,064.33, while the broader All Shares Index declined by 0.6 percent to 4,332.59.
Except for the holding firms, which rose by 1.3 percent, all major counters were in red led by financial (-3. percent), industrial (-2.6 percent), property (-2.3 percent), mining and oil (-2.2 percent) and services (-1.8 percent).
Foreign investors were net sellers by P2.4 billion, while average daily value traded stood at P4.9 billion.
Weekly top price gainers were LT Group Inc., which rose 10.2 percent to P14.64; GT Capital Holdings Inc., which climbed 7.7 percent to P785; and San Miguel Corp., which gained 4.1 percent to P164.50.
Weekly top price losers were Universal Robina Corp., which declined 11 percent to P130 after the company reported a decline in its nine-month net income; Semirara Mining and Power Corp., dropped 9.8 percent to P26.60; and Security Bank Corp., which fell 8.5 percent to P139.50.
The rest of global equity markets suffered another downturn Friday with tech stocks pummeled after US titans Amazon and Google-parent Alphabet missed key earnings targets.
Geopolitics, Italian debt concerns and Brexit worries also played a role in a sell-off that swept through Asia and Europe before hitting Wall Street, analysts said.
Fresh hefty losses came at the end of a hugely volatile trading week that has wiped out all of the 2018 gains for some markets.
“Risk aversion is alive and kicking on Friday, as weaker than expected tech earnings trigger the latest stampede and those still buying the dips once again get burned,” said Craig Erlam at Oanda.
The tech selloff left the Nasdaq down 2.1 percent and the Dow and S&P 500 in negative territory for the year.
“Tech companies have raised the bar so high in recent years that the numbers reported by Amazon and Alphabet just weren’t quite spectacular enough, not at a time when investors are a nervous wreck and fleeing for safety at the first sign of danger,” Erlam said.
The earnings reports added to already “skittish global sentiment,” analysts at Charles Schwab said, and overshadowed earlier news of stronger-than-expected US growth in the third quarter. With AFP
