Share prices will likely trade sideways with an upward bias as the government weighs the possible relaxation of mobility restrictions in the capital region.
The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases is expected to decide soon the new alert level of Metro Manila for the first two weeks of February.
With the continued decline in COVID-19 cases in Metro Manila, analysts said IAFT may lower the current alert level from 3 to 2 to aid in the recovery of the economy.
BDO Unibank Inc. chief investment strategist Jonathan Ravelas sees the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index index trading between 7,000 points and 7,350 points over the near term period.
COL Financial research head April Lynn Tan, meanwhile, said in a forum the index could rise to 8,400 by the end of 2022.
Tan said investors should focus on buying blue chip companies and value stocks as fund mangers are expected to accumulate them before they rotate to mid-cap stocks, amid the volatility leading to the May presidential elections,
Tan said that while share prices have recovered, many listed companies are still trading at a discount compared to their historical average.
The PSEi last week slipped 0.6 percent to 7,251.97, while the broader All Shares Index dropped 0.3 percent to 3,856.08.
Only two of the six sectoral indices posted week-on-week gains, led by financials which rose 2.2 percent and industrial which climbed 1.9 percent.
Mining and oil declined 3.2 percent, holding firms by 1.8 percent, property by 1.7 percent; and services by 1 percent.
Foreign investors were net sellers for the week by P1.46 billion, while the average daily value traded stood at P6.6 billion from the previous week’s average of P5.5 billion.
Weekly top price gainers were Emperador Inc., which jumped 15 percent to P22.30; Century Pacific Food Inc., which rose 8.1 percent to P28; and Bank of the Philippine Islands, which advanced 4.8 percent to P99.30.
Weekly top price losers were ABS-CBN Corp., which sank 18.2 percent to P11.50; Philex Mining Corp., which fell 10.5 percent to P5.25; and 8990 Holdings Inc., which declined 5.8 percent to P11.02.
Wall Street stocks, meanwhile, finished a topsy-turvy week on a sunny note Friday, rallying after strong Apple earnings following a down day in Europe.
After opening lower, stocks pushed into positive territory most of the day before rising buoyantly in the final hours of trading, lifting all three major indices into the black for the week.
It was the latest midday reversal in a week that has seen early rallies peter out and torrid selling give way to sudden bargain-hunting.
Blowout earnings from Apple lifted sentiment, with the tech giant surging 7.0 percent after reporting a record $124 billion in quarterly revenues driven by strong sales of iPhones and other gadgets and services.
The S&P 500 finished up 2.4 percent, enabling it and the other two major US indices to finish the week in the black despite some bruising stretches in recent days. With AFP
