Stocks are expected to trade sideways with a downward bias during this shortened trading week as investors continue to lighten up on their positions amid current volatile market conditions.
Papa Securities trader Gabriel Jose Perez noted that the market seemed to be contented in maintaining the 7,700-point level support, with index able to go back to this level despite recent declines.
Analysts, however, saw a possibility that the index could bounce back to 7,900 points on bargain hunting as the local shares have been battered in the past trading sessions.
The market’s recent decline will also lure investors to take position on stocks that are expected to sustain growth for 2020.
The 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange Index last week fell 1.3 percent to close at 7,773.12 on volatile trading. The broader All Shares Index declined 1.4 percent to 4,598.83.
Four of the six sectoral indices ended in the red led by industrial, which declined 3.6 percent, financials which dropped 3.2 percent, property which lost 1.3 percent and financial which slipped 0.4 percent.
Mining and oil rose by 0.9 percent while services advanced 1.5 percent.
Foreign investor were net sellers for the week by P5.8 billion, while the average daily value traded accelerated to P10 billion from the previous week’s P5.6 billion on heavy foreign selling.
Weekly top price gainers included DMIC Holdings Inc., which jumped 15 percent to P6.38, Metro Pacific Investments Corp., which climbed 8.3 percent to P3.26, and San Miguel Corp., which rose 3.3 percent to P158.
Weekly top price losers were Manila Water Co. Inc., which slumped 25.7 percent to P7.44, First Gen Corp., which dropped 10 percent to P22.90 and Manila Electric Co., which fell 10 percent to P286.
Wall Street stocks, meanwhile, streaked to fresh records on Friday, propelled by continued positive sentiment on trade and solid US economic data.
Stock markets elsewhere were mixed, while the dollar gained and oil prices slipped on profit taking after six straight gains.
“Once you get to a new high, it doesn’t take much to get to another one,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at National Securities, who described investors as “content.”
“Tariffs are probably peaked out and we’ll probably see fewer tariffs in 2020,” Hogan said, citing last week’s US-China announcement that called off new tariffs.
Investors are also more confident than earlier in the year that the United States will avert a recession following a stream of mostly solid economic data.
Official figures released Friday confirmed third-quarter US growth at 2.1 percent.
Meanwhile, the dollar, which has retreated somewhat in recent months, advanced against major currencies, bolstered by strong US personal income and consumer confidence data, as well as the stock market records.
Still, BK Asset Management’s Kathy Lien warned the greenback could be vulnerable.
“The US economy is not improving as fast as everyone hopes, the central bank has no plans to tighten, although the chance of further easing is slim as well,” Lien said. With AFP
