Shares at the Philippine Stock Exchange are expected to move on a narrow range this week as investor sentiments remain bearish on lingering concerns over rising inflation and slower economic growth.
Online brokerage firm 2TradeAsia in its weekly outlook said risk premiums were still rising due to the Russia-Ukraine war as well as possible interest rate hikes because of climbing fuel prices.
The recent spike in COVID-19 cases in other parts of the world is also becoming a cause of concern for investors despite the current low numbers in the Philippines.
But the market’s recent drop could provide opportunities for investors to accumulate on stocks that have recently dropped to near 52-week lows.
“The benchmark index moving at a particular tight range softly confirms the general market’s hesitance over major market forces at present,” 2TradeAsia said.
The Philippine Stock Exchange Index last week advanced 1.7 percent to 7,124.84 after Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas decided to keep the benchmark interest rates steady.
Except for the property index which declined 0.8 percent, all major sub-indices ended in the green. Services jumped 4.5 percent; financials rose 2.4 percent; mining and oil increased 2.2 percent; industrials gained 1.2 percent; and holding firms added 1.1 percent.
Foreign investors were net sellers for the week by P3.27 billion while the average daily value traded fell to P6.7 billion from the previous week’s average of P12.65 billion.
Weekly top price gainers were Globe Telecom Inc., which increased 17 percent to P2.638; PLDT Inc., which advanced 9.7 percent to P1,850; and Emperador Inc., which gained 5.2 percent at P14.64.
Weekly top price losers were Bloomberry Resorts Corp., which declined 7.5 percent to P6.29; Monde Nissin Corp., which dropped 5.8 percent to P13.50; and LT Group Inc., which fell 4.3 percent to P8.90.