Philippines stocks may be cheatedAs investors look for fresh catalysts, including the Trump administration’s tariff policy announcements and the financial performance of listed companies, move sideways.
On Friday, the Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEI) fell 0.39% or 25.31 points to close at 6,339.38 points, while the widespread all-stock index fell 0.22% or 8.65 points to 3,767.41.
The week after week, PSEI climbed 0.53% or 33.25 points from the 6,306.13 finish on August 1.
“This week, PSEI went sideways this week as investors improved from the second quarter gross domestic product (GDP) and cooled down global policy uncertainty and potential third quarter growth risks,” said online brokerage 2tradeasia.com.
“Over the past nine weeks, local markets have been shifting alternately between losses and losses. The lack of clear direction reflects investors’ indecision as they continue to study the risks and uncertainties of US protectionist trade strategies in the prospects of BSP (Bangko Sentral NG Pilipinas) mitigation policies, which is the overall economy of the general economy, Tantianco said in a Viber message.
Philippines GDP grew 5.5% between April and June, slightly higher than the first quarter’s growth of 5.4%, but slower than the 6.5% expansion in the second quarter of last year. This is in line with the government’s lower end of this year’s growth target of 5.5%-6.5%.
GDP growth averaged 5.4% in the first half of the year, slightly below the government’s target.
Meanwhile, the Philippines’ inflation rate slowed from 1.4% in June and 4.4% in the same month a year ago to a six-year low of 0.9% in July. This marks its fifth straight month of settlement under the central bank’s 2-4% target.
The Consumer Price Index has averaged 1.7% so far, slightly higher than the BSP’s full-year forecast of 1.6%.
Mr Tantiangco said the market will be looking for potential customers this week.
“Investors are expected to be wary of the latest information on U.S. President Donald J. Trump’s trade policy plan, mainly based on his bargaining chips and semiconductor tariffs. It is also expected to continue to monitor the company’s report in the second quarter,” he said. “The prospect of further relaxation of BSP may continue to provide market support in the past week.”
He added: “Based on the performance of the chart, based on performance from mid-July to the present, there is still bias in the local market. To negate this trend, the market must first surpass its recent lows (6,222.04 on July 31 last year) and its recent highs (6,466.10 on July 24 last year).
2tradeasia.com sets PSEI instant support at 6,300 and resistance at 6,600.
“The ongoing second-quarter revenue season will be a critical period for validating basic papers, which has changed the macroeconomic pressures,” it said. – Revin Mikhael D. Ochave
