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Philippines
Friday, March 29, 2024

Market poised to trade sideways

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Share prices are expected to move sideways during this shortened trading week on renewed worries about the viral outbreak in China.

Several countries including China, South Korea, Japan, Iran and Italy reported an increase in COVID-19 cases.

But analysts said the good earnings report from listed companies could provide a boost on the market amid growing worries over the coronavirus.

“Trade the market for now as investors are expected to weigh corporate earrings against COVID-19 concerns and January’s balance of payment deficit,” Philstocks Financial Inc said.

“Take positions from banks and properties amid their robust earnings,” it added.

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Among the companies scheduled to release 2019 earnings are Manila Electric Co., Metro Pacific Investments Corp., Manila Water Co. Inc. and SM Investments Corp.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index last week rose 1.2 percent 7,369.78, while the broader All Shares Index added 0.6 percent to 4,346.76.

Except for the financial index which dipped 0.02 percent, all other sub-indices posted week-on-week increases, led by holding firms which climbed 2.4 percent, financials which advanced added 0.6 percent, and property which rose 0.4 percent. Mining and oil increased 0.4 percent while services also added 0.3 percent.

Foreign investors were net sellers for the week by P1.24 billion while the average daily value traded stood at P6.13 billion from previous week’s average of P6.1 billion.

Weekly top price gainers were ABS-CBN Corp., which rose 14.7 percent to P12, Atlas Consolidated Mining and Development Corp., which increased 8.6 percent to P2.40 and AC Energy Philippines Inc., which climbed 7.6 percent to P2.27.

Weekly top price losers were LT Group Inc., which declined 8.6 percent to P9.50, Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc., which fell 6.5 percent to P6.81 and Chelsea Logistics and Infrastructure Holdings Corp., which tumbled 5.8 percent to P4.17.

Meanwhile, more cases of the new coronavirus outside China along with warnings by major companies that their earnings could be hurt caused most stock markets to pull back on Friday.

“Coronavirus was back at the top of the agenda on Friday, with a rising number of new cases in China and South Korea putting the fear in investors,” remarked Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell.

More than 2,200 people have died from the disease in China, which has infected more than 75,000 people there and over 1,000 abroad, fueling concerns the epidemic will become a bigger problem for neighboring economies.

As a growing list of companies warned of an expected hit to their bottom lines, investors seemed unwilling to hold on to shares and moved into safe havens.

Wall Street tumbled for the second day, with the broad-based S&P 500 dropping 1.1 percent.

European markets struggled to benefit from upbeat manufacturing survey data, and closed with losses of around half a percent.

Two more people died in Iran while infections nearly doubled in South Korea and clusters surfaced in Chinese prisons, rekindling concerns about the outbreak. With AFP

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