The Philippine Stock Exchange Index, the 30-company benchmark, is expected to trade sideways this week amid the lack of major leads and key events that will trigger an upward movement.
BPI Asset Management said in its weekly outlook the benchmark index was expected to be range-bound between 7,590 and 7,795 points, tracking the overnight movement of Wall Street and Asian markets.
Investors will also closely monitor full-year earnings of listed companies, which may be released starting this week.
F. Yap Securities investment analyst Jason Escartin, however, said trend indications showed the PSEi could rise toward 8,000 on sustained buying momentum. He said given the overall positive outlook on the stock market, investors should seize opportunities to buy on dips.
The PSEi last week closed higher by 0.5 percent to a record 7,728.18, while the broader all-share index gained 0.7 percent to 4,496.74 amid volatile trading.
BDO Unibank chief investment strategist Jonathan Ravelas said the index seesawed last week with investors pocketing profits and bargain hunting, leading the market to post fresh highs after revisiting the 7,500 level, on mixed market developments abroad such as the volatility on Wall Street.
The PSEi set new record highs nine times this year and posted a 6.9-percent gain since the start of the year.
PSE president and chief executive Hans Sicat said he was pleased with the stock market’s performance in the first five trading weeks. “The record numbers registered by the index highlights the level of investor confidence in our market. We hope that our initiatives to raise awareness about investing at the PSE to fund managers here and abroad will see more investment inflows into our market,” Sicat said.
Mining and oil gained 4.55 percent, while services and industrial sector closed higher by 2.4 percent and 0.65 percent, respectively.
Financial sub-index dipped 0.7 percent, while property and holding firms dropped 0.3 percent and 0.01 percent, respectively.
Overseas investors were net buyers last week by P9.04 billion, as total foreign buying reached P34.54 billion, while foreign selling amounted to P25.9 billion.
The average daily turnover improved to P12.78 billion last week from the previous level of P11.6 billion.
Top gainers last week were Liberty Flour Mills Inc., which rose 46.6 percent to P51.40; Imperial Resources “A” shares, which climbed 39.5 percent to P4.20; and Vivant Corp., which jumped 21.1 percent to P23.50.
AFPHeavy losers included Imperial Resources “B” shares which dipped 39.7 percent to P25.05; Island Information & Technology Inc., which dropped 31.7 percent to P0.23; and Lafarge Republic Inc., which fell 13.5 percent to P10.20.