Lack of catalysts stalls market upswing

The last minute lucky streak enjoyed by the stock market on Wednesday did not continue throughout yesterday’s session as investors tried to look for better leads and stronger catalysts, analysts said.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) declined 65.88 points, or 0.80 percent, to finish at 8,156.04.

Similarly, the broader All Shares index was down 32.84 points, or 0.68 percent, to end at 4,818.25.

Most counters ended in negative territory led by the holding firms, services, prop- erty, industrial and financials sectors.

Total value turnover reached P10.58 billion. Market breadth was negative, 141 against 70 while 38 issues were left unchanged.

Traders said there is still some profit taking going on after the market reached record highs last week. They also said the market may rally anew once the Senate passes the government’s tax reform program.

Jun Tarrobago, head of Equities at ATR said the recent PSEi rallies have legs but will be anchored on the passage of TRAIN or the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion.

The government is pushing for the passage of House Bill 5636 but is at risk of being watered down by the Senate.

HB 5636 will yield P1.163trillion in net revenue from 2018 to 2022 with the complementary measures, slightly lower compared to the P1.266 trillion under the original proposal submitted by the Department of Finance (DOF).