HUNT FOR GOOD DEALS MAY YET SAVE BOURSE FROM ANOTHER CHOPPY WEEK

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) may be able to take a breather this week after a pummeling that sent it back to the 6,500 territory. Still, investors remain on the edge after US inflation surged to a 41-year high.

Timson Securities Inc. head of online trading Marc Kebinson Lood said the local bourse might be lifted by some bargain-hunting activities given the recent market plunge.

On Friday, the PSEi declined by 3.38 percent, or 228.55 points, to close at 6,530.04 while the broader all-shares index slipped 2.46 percent, or 88.73 points, to finish at 3,511.93 as investors anticipated the release of the US inflation data.

Lood said investors were “waiting to see if inflation has peaked or if the Federal Reserve will become even more aggressive in combating rising prices.”

Recent reports show that the US consumer price index in May rose to 8.6 percent, which is the highest since 1981.

Even with the bargain-hunting, Lood said “[this] week is likely to be choppy, with the majority of the public taking a waitand-see attitude because there is no market catalyst to fuel index momentum upwards.”

Michael Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., said investors were still on the lookout for developments related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the trend in oil prices.

Apart from this, Ricafort said the local bourse might also track any additional pronouncements regarding the reopening of the economy. The government recently allowed a 100-percent operational capacity in all establishments in areas under alert level 1.