Market seen to weaken further on impeachment concerns

The stockmarket will remain weak this week, weighed down by worries of a prolonged impeachment trial although analysts say there are pockets of opportunities that could be exploited, specially when the Senate hearings take a positive turn.

"There is still hesitation since the market is uncertain of what the outcome of President Estrada’s impeachment trial will be," said veteran stockbroker Irving, Ackerman, who heads his own securities firm I. Ackerman and Co.

He said the market will continue to be very quiet as investors become more cautious of any market-moving development on the political front, particularly as the impeachment case heats up on the possible appearance of President Estrada himself before the Senate.

"Unless we see a concrete pattern in the impeachment trial, there aren’t much factors that would significantly shake the market in the meantime," Ackerman said.

The main index ended in the red for the sixth consecutive day last Friday, falling below the 1,400 level to close at 1,388.25.

"Investors will wait out until the market rally is oversold in preparation for the expected window-dressing by year-end," PCCI Securities and Brokers Corp. research head Gonzalo Bongolan said.

He said the Phisix’s intermediate support lies between 1,350 and 1,375 which, when breached, could deepen to below the 1,300 mark.

But Bongolan added a breakthrough in the impeachment hearings, along with the 50 basis-point cut in the Bangko Sentral’s oversight rates effective today could trigger an initial accumulation, hence the market may not immediately plunge under 1,300.

The main index bottomed to a two-year low of 1,261.23 last Oct. 20 as calls for President Estrada’s resignation heightened in reaction to allegations he accepted money from jueteng, a highly popular but illegal numbers game.

"There is still a downward bias but as what usually happens, the market always get ahead of itself. By this week, the year-end window dressing might start as investors pick up oversold stocks," Bongolan said.