Share prices are expected to move sideways with an upward bias in this shortened trading week amid prospects of easing interest rate hikes.
Financial markets are closed Monday as the country celebrates Araw ng Kagitingan.
Analysts said the lower March inflation rate bolstered hopes that the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ tightening cycle would soon come to an end.
Inflation rate in March eased to six-month low of 7.6 percent from 8.6 percent in February on reduced prices of petroleum and some food commodities. Core inflation rate, however, climbed to 8 percent in March from 7.8 percent in the previous month, illustrating broadening price pressures.
Analysts said while the BSP was expected to deliver another 25-basis-point rate increase in its next policy meeting in May, investors were expecting the BSP to take a pause from its tightening cycle by the second half of 2023.
