Shares prices are expected to remain on the sideway trading mode this week as investors track global oil prices and inflation rate.
Investors will also monitor the release of the March inflation rate.
“March inflation rate will be a key figure in the coming sessions through forecasts are erred towards the downside given the biting impact crude’s volatility has provided over the past month,” online brokerage firm 2TradeAsia.com said.
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno last Thursday inflation in March likely rose to least 3.3 percent from 3 percent in February, driven by higher oil and power prices. Diokno said the March inflation would likely settle within a range of 3.3 percent to 4.1 percent.
With high oil prices expected extend until the first half of the year, the online brokerage firm said investors should avoid stocks with crude exposure. They should also focus on companies that are able to pass on the inflation burden and those that could raise their margins despite the current business environment, like renewables and banks.
Investors may concentrate on stocks that will benefit from election-related spending and the onset of the dry season.
The Philippine Stock Exchange Index last week inched up 0.4 percent to 7,152.88 after a sideways trading due to geopolitical uncertainties. The All Shares Index added 0.4 percent to 3,788.59.
The average daily value traded stood at P6 billion, down from the previous week’s average of P6.6 billion. Foreign investors were net sellers for the week by P3.1 billion.
Weekly top price gainers were PAL Holdings Inc., which advanced 9.1 percent to P6.60; Puregold Price Club Inc., which increased 8.3 percent to P35.70; and Cebu Air Inc., which rose 6.7 percent to P47.15.
Weekly top price losers were Nickel Asia Corp., which slid 6.1 percent to P7.72; Globe Telecom Inc., which dropped 4.5 percent to P2,520; and Emperador Inc., which fell 4.1 percent to P14.04.
Meanwhile, Wall Street stocks finished modestly higher Friday as solid US jobs data boosted expectations for more Federal Reserve interest rate hikes, while oil prices retreated after US allies agreed to tap their emergency stockpiles.
The government jobs report for March showed US employers adding 431,000 positions and the unemployment rate falling to 3.6 percent, a hair above where it was before the pandemic.
The data showed progress in the US economic recovery, but also raised expectations of an aggressive Federal Reserve interest rate hike to tame runaway inflation.
“Given the strength of the labor market and inflation well above target, the probability that the Fed raises rates by 50 (basis points) at its next meeting in May—which is our baseline—is rising,” Daniel Vernazza of UniCredit Bank said in a note.
However, the Institute for Supply Management reported the US manufacturing sector’s expansion slowed last month amid a spike in energy prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
After a choppy session, all three major US indices finished modestly higher with the S&P 500 up 0.3 percent, lifting the index narrowly into positive territory for the week.
European equities also climbed, despite data showing eurozone inflation surged by a record 7.5 percent last month. With AFP