Share prices are expected to move sideways this week on the lack of immediate catalysts that could sustain the market’s upward momentum to the 8,000-point mark. level.
Analysts said the market’s failure to stay above 8,000 points last week indicated that investors were still in tentative mode, mostly because of external factors.
“We continue to see consolidation between the 7,900-8,000 levels. Look for a break above the 8,250 levels to call the bulls back to play,” said BDO Unibank Inc. chief investment strategist Jonathan Ravelas.
Investors are expected to remain on the wait-and see mode during the short-term period as they await the US Fed meeting on June 18-19, as well as the outcome of the US-China talks during the G20 meeting scheduled on June 28 to 29.
The Philippine Stock Exchange Index last week closed a notch below 8,000 as share prices moved mostly sideways due to geopolitical risks and the lingering concerns over the US-China trade war.
The broader All Shares Index slipped 0.1 percent to 4,884.91. Three sectoral indices ended higher, led by industrial which rose 1.5 percent, services which gained 1.4 percent and financial which added 0.3 percent.
Three sectoral indices closed lower led mining and oil which declined 2 percent, holding firms which dropped 1.34percent and property which dipped 0.03 percent.
Foreign investors were net buyers during the four-day trading week by P1.62 billion, while the average daily value traded stood at P7.9 billion from last week’s average of P8 billion.
Weekly top price gainers were Phinma Petroleum and Geothermal Inc., which rose 7.8 percent to P4.29; International Container Terminal Services Inc., which advanced 7.6 percent to P148; and Chelsea Logistics and Infrastructure Holdings Corp., which climbed 7 percent to P7.
Weekly top price losers were ABS-CBN Corp., which fell 8.4 percent to P16.90; Filinvest Land Inc., which dipped five percent to P1.71; and Philippine National Bank, which lost 4.8 percent to P54.70.
Wall Street, meanwhile, sagged into the red on Friday but clung to slender gains for the week as investors were buffeted by an array of global uncertainties and risks.
The subdued movements for stocks came as investors await next week’s policy meeting by the Federal Reserve, which investors will scrutinize for signs the central bank is ready and willing to lower interest rates.
The major indices were also largely unmoved by rosy economic news from the United States—where data showed retail sales and industrial output were strong in May—focusing instead on gloomy numbers from China and a dimming outlook for semiconductors.
The benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down less than a tenth of a percent, settling at 26,089.61.
The broader S&P 500 fell 0.2 percent to 2,886.99 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq sank 0.5 percent to close at 7,796.66.
Good US economic news “helped alleviate some of the bear factors showing that the economy was slowing too much,” Peter Cardillo of Spartan Capital told AFP.
“We also have technical issues .. that helped the market at the end of the session.” With AFP