Share prices are expected to drift sideways this week on concerns of investors about the economic recovery amid the current health crisis.
Analysts said while the latest mobility restrictions announced by the government could ease market uncertainties, the slow rollout of vaccination was impeding the faster recovery of the economy.
“The latest quarantine guidelines, which put National Capital Region Plus under general community quarantine with heightened restorations, could somehow dispel lingering market uncertainties,” online brokerage firm U-Trade said.
BDO Unibank Inc. chief investment strategist Jonathan Ravelas, however, said the market’s recent decline to the 6,200-point level signaled it could slip to the 6,000 levels.
“Should this decline accelerate in the coming days, it could put the 6,000 levels to the test and if it further breaks, could put the 5,700 levels within striking distance,” Ravelas said.
“However, should the 6,000 levels hold, expect a sizable bounce towards the 6,500/6,700 levels in the near-term,” he added.
The Philippine Stock Exchange Index last week shed 0.2 percent to 6,269.36, while the boarder All Shares Index dropped 0.7 percent to 3,850.98.
Analysts said the market dropped to the 6,200 levels after the government reported the domestic economy further contracted by 4.2 percent in the first three months of 2021.
Sectoral indices ended in mixed. Holding firms and financials posted week-on-week gains of 1.9 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively. The mining and oil, property, industrial and services indices lost 5.4 percent, 3.2 percent, 0.7 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively.
Foreign investors, however, turned buyers for the week at P798 million. The average daily value traded improved to P6.6 billion from the previous week’s average of P4.57 billion.
Weekly top price gainers were LBC Express Holdings Inc., which rose 9.5 percent to P17.02; Shakey’s Pizza Asia Ventures Inc., which advanced 7.4 percent to P7.95; and Century Pacific Food Inc., which climbed 5.7 percent to P22.20.
Weekly top price losers were Philippine Savings Bank, which declined 28.5 percent to P55; Philippine National Bank, which dropped 24.9 percent to P21.55; and Megaworld Corp., which sank 13.6 percent to P2.60.
Meanwhile, bargain-buying Friday helped major markets bounce back from some of last week’s steep losses as investors bet on the US economy’s recovery, despite lingering inflation fears.
Oil prices recovered after heavy losses a day earlier to end the week in the black as equities rose, but the dollar lost ground following recent gains. Bitcoin finished below $50,000 after oscillating throughout the day.
Global stocks have been convulsed for months by expectations that a blockbuster global recovery will send prices rocketing, forcing central banks”•particularly the Federal Reserve”•to taper the ultra-loose monetary policies that have helped drive a rally for more than a year.
But in the United States, the economy appears to be “opening at a faster clip” and the price gains that come with it may not be a problem, Quincy Krosby of Prudential Financial said. With AFP
