Improved economic outlook to lift stock trading this week

PHILIPPINE stocks are expected move sideways with an upward trend in this shortened trading week on improving economic outlook.

Financial markets were closed Monday, which was declared a holiday in honor of Andres Bonifacio.

Online brokerage firm 2TradeAsia. com said the recent positive macro-economic headlines, slowing inflation and pause in interest rates boosted market sentiments in the past trading days.

“All eyes are now on drivers for 2024, and when not broader market forces will follow the beat of the same drum as in the late 2022 up to 2023,” 2TradeAsia.com said.

It said if the upcoming data releases in December would track market expectations, the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index may retest the 6,500 level by year-end.

“Volume remains less than ideal, however, which warrants some caution in the near-term, as the strength of technical signals are skewed by this anemic participation,” it said.

Meanwhile, PSE president Ramon Monzon said the low trading volume in the market was happening not only in the Philippines but also in other Asian countries.

“We are third in Asia in terms of trading volume drop. Unbelievably, Thailand dropped by 29 percent to 30 percent, while Philippines dropped by 16 percent to 17 percent. But having said that, it is not a justification. So we are coming out with several programs,” Monzon said.

The PSEi added 53 points, or 0.93 percent, last week to close at 6,269.50 on Friday, while the broader all-shares index climbed 0.71 percent to 3,348.22.

Foreign investors were net buyers by nearly P1 billion last week. Average daily turnover reached P3.3 billion, down from the previous week’s average of P3.5 billion.