• Market expected to remain upbeat
The stock market is expected to remain upbeat this week, analysts said.
The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) is seen hitting anywhere from 7,650 to 7,700.
“The PSEI has already shown its ability to hit levels above 7,700 – it just needs more evidence to validate the growing optimism. Support continues to hold at 7,650,” said Justino Calaycay of Philstocks Financials.
“This week’s market internal numbers validates this view – net foreign inflows, increased value flows (based on the averages), improvement in the market’s week-on-week breadth, to name a few are encouraging. Furthermore, we have seen modest – at the very least – first quarter numbers, the bulk of which will start flowing next month,” he said.
Last week, the PSEI advanced 1.1 percent over the four-day week although Friday’s trades pulled the benchmark below the 7700-line again.
Despite Friday’s lackluster performance, however, last week’s market performance was still upbeat.
“The closing trades was relatively tepid but the over-all week’s performance provided the bulls with something to chew on until action resumes tomorrow,” Calaycay said.
“The PSEI steadied above the 7700mark, a level not many may have thought we’d be at so soon. Philstocks.ph did assert in last Monday that a test of the 7700line was probable in the next two-to-three weeks. We were wrong as it came much earlier – Tuesday, to be exact. At Friday’s close, the bellwether for Philippine counters settled at 7661.01, ending a two-day stretch above the 7700- line,” he said.
Value turnover thinned to P5.76 billion, as investors opted to be liquid – or at least not add to their exposure going into an extended weekend.
For the week, however, foreigners increased their exposure.
Foreign activity showed a reversal of the previous week’s selling to daily average net purchases of P519.2 million, bringing the year-to-date accumulated position to net proceeds of P7.685 billion, narrower than the P9.762 billion recorded at the end of the immediately preceding week.