Market weighing extended ECQ

Share prices are expected to continue trading sideways this week with a downward bias after President Rodrigo Duterte extended the lockdown on the capital region and nearby areas for another two weeks to May 15.

Regina Capital Development Corp. managing director Luis Limlingan said the investors were assessing the impact of the extended enhance community quarantine amid reports a closely followed experimental drug to treat the new coronavirus delivered disappointing results in an clinical trial.

“The Gilead’s potential antiviral drug for coronavirus has flopped in its first randomized clinical trial,” Limlingan said, citing reports that from thr Financial Times.

Analysts said the extension of the ECQ would further hurt the domestic economy and affect employment

“The week’s close at 5,464.98 may see more price action towards the retest of the 5,000 levels in the near-term. Immediate support and resistance is seen at 5,500 and 5,900 levels, respectively,” BDO Unibank chief investment strategist Jonathan Ravelas said.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index last week declined 5.6 percent to 5.464.98, while the broader All Shares Index dropped 4.1 percent to 3,350.73 as the government extended the implementation of the ECQ.

Except for the services index which inched up 04 percent, all other major sub-indices registered week-on-week declines.

Property index declined 8.4 percent, followed by holding firms which fell 6.5 percent while industrial dropped 4.7 percent. The financial index fell 3.8 percent while mining and oil decreased 2 percent.

Foreign investors were net sellers for the week by P3.089 billion.

The average daily value traded declined to P5 billion from the previous week’s average of P7.65 billion.

Weekly stock price gainers were 2GO Group Inc., which rose 76.1 percent to P10.92, Metro Retail Stores Group Inc., which advanced 13.2 percent to P1.72, and AyalaLand Logistics Holdings Corp., which rose 10.9 percent to P1.83.

Weekly top price losers were Megawide Construction Corp., which declined 25.2 percent to P6.65, JG Summit Holdings Inc., which dropped 8.9 percent to P49 and Ayala Land Inc., which shed 8.4 percent to P28.90.

Meanwhile, US oil prices ended a historically bad week on a positive note, extending gains Friday owing to rising Iran-US tensions, though equities edged down following a series of crushing economic data.

As the rates of infection and deaths linked to the coronavirus show signs of easing in some countries thanks to draconian lockdowns, a fuller picture of the extent of its economic impact was beginning to emerge.

Purchasing managers indexes”•which gauge activity in countries’ factory and service sectors”•came in at either lows not seen in decades or in history, highlighting the huge battle governments face in averting an extensive, painful depression. With AFP

The readings came as the US said 4.4 million people applied for unemployment benefits last week, taking the total virus-fueled job losses in the country to more than 26 million.

Tokyo stocks ended 0.9 percent lower, while Hong Kong shed 0.4 percent and Singapore slipped 0.9 percent.

Shanghai, Seoul and Jakarta fell more than one percent, while Mumbai dropped 0.5 percent. Taipei and Bangkok fell 0.2 percent apiece, and Wellington was off 0.3 percent. With AFP