Flat trading seen this week; laxer quarantine rules eyed

Trading at the Philippine Stock Exchange is expected to remain on sideways mode again this week as investors await the government’s decision to ease the quarantine rules in Metro Manila and key regions.

The government is set to make an announcement before Sept. 30, but majority of Metro Manila mayors seemed to be in favor of extending the general community quarantine status in the capital region to ensure the continued decline of COVID-19 cases.

“Attention is trained on the deliberation for quarantine policy for the month of October, further relaxation, particularly in Metro Manila, will mark a period where the economy is most open since March and should spur optimism heading into the historically brisker 4Q,” 2TradeAsia.com said.

With the third quarter period nearly over, investors are likely to position ahead of the release of their quarter earnings.

Investors will be looking at stocks that are expected to recover over the near- to medium-term period.

The PSE Index last week rose nearly 1 percent to 5,908.90, while the broader All Shares Index added 0.7 percent to 3,553.58.

Sectoral indices were mixed. Mining and oil rose 1.2 percent; property gained 0.4 percent; and financials increased 0.3 percent.

The industrial dropped 2.8 percent; services fell 1.6 percent; and holding firms dipped 1.1 percent.

Foreign investors were net sellers for the week by P3.7 billion, while the average daily value traded reached P5.8 billion, up from the previous week’s average of P4.7 billion.

Weekly top price gainers included Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. which advanced 5.6 percent to P36.50; Philex Mining Corp., which rose 5.4 percent to P4.30, and Alliance Global Group Inc., which climbed 4.6 percent to P7.25 each.

Weekly top losers were PLDT Inc., which dropped 6.8 percent to P1,384, Jollibee Foods Corp., which declined 3.9 percent to P130 and SM Investments Corp., which fell 3.6 percent to P872 apiece.

US stocks, meanwhile, finished a choppy week solidly higher as tech stocks outperformed, though the cheer did not extend to Europe where investors were spooked by surging virus infections.

After a see-saw of a week in which indices repeatedly closed sessions in the red, the Dow finished up 1.3 percent on Friday while tech stocks, which had a banner August but have struggled for much of this month, pushed the Nasdaq to close 2.3 percent higher. With AFP

The dollar climbed against its main rivals, while oil prices dropped.

However both the Dow and S&P were lower for the week overall, and Art Hogan, chief market strategist at National Securities, said the day’s gains were not indicative of broader momentum.

“The market has been under pressure for a while and is just catching a bit of a bargain-hunting Friday,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at National Securities.

Investors remain disquieted by the continued failure of Washington lawmakers to agree on more stimulus for the battered US economy. 

The side effect of that deadlock were felt in European trading, where Frankfurt and Paris ended lower though London eked out a small gain. With AFP