Top stocks for the week Volatile trading seen this week

Stock trading at the local bourse this week is seen to be volatile, influenced by major economic announcements as well as the expected slew of corporate earnings reports.

“After the 4-day weekend, investors will suddenly be confronted by inflation data on Tuesday (November 6) and GDP on Thursday (November 8),” said Abacus Securities Corporation.

Meanwhile, online brokerage firm 2TradeAsia.com said “key events on the international front will help shape trajectory expectations for equities trading: US FOMC policy meeting; China's import fair, AEC meeting in Port Moresby, and G20 summit in Argentina.”

It noted that, “the focal point is on US-China relations, specifically on tariffs… Expect volatility for now with no clear agenda in sight yet, although any reconciliatory hint would be a booster for equities.”

Abacus added that, “third quarter earnings reports will also go into higher gear (this) week which could add to the recent volatility.”

“Corporate earnings have started to come in and so far some of them have exceeded expectations. This may be just what the market needs right now to draw investors back in,” noted Eagle Equities Head of Research Christopher Mangun.

Among the early birds, BDO Unibank is getting a BUY recommendation from top online brokerage firm COL Financial “given its strong position to capitalize on the country’s favorable economic prospects.”

It added that, “we believe BDO’s earnings quality is higher than other banks given that a larger portion of its revenues are generated from recurring income.”

Meanwhile, Abacus continues to recommend a buy for Robinsons Retail Holdings, Inc. and Union Bank of the Philippines despite margin squeezes in the third quarter as revenue growth remained healthy and prices remain attractive.

For the market in general, Mangun said that, “if the index can break above resistance at 7,200 next week, then this may signal that the main index has bottomed out and is officially in a reversal to the upside.”

But, he noted that, “if the index does not start to recover soon, then we may be in for more losses. However, foreign outflows are starting to slow down which is a very good sign.”

“Coupled with the fact that oil prices are dropping and the peso appreciating which will reduce inflation, there is a lot of optimism that the market will perform better in the fourth quarter despite ending October in the red,” Mangun said.