Stock mart seen to remain flat as investors await corporate results

Share prices are likely to continue to consolidate this week in the absence of any clear fresh leads, dealers said over the weekend.

They said investors, having got through the concerns of the elections and the long wait for President Arroyo to be declared the winner, are in no hurry to commit funds at the moment and are waiting for upcoming corporate results for their next move.

"We’ll likely stay this way because there has been no good news to pick up the market," said Gomer Tan of Regina Capital Development, referring to the past week’s sluggish performance.

Tan expects the hourse to trade in a 1,570 to 1,620 points range in the coming week.

"We expect investors to remain sidelined as they await the release of first half reults starting late this month or early next month," said BPI Securities in its daily advisory.

"The (Philippine Stock Exchange composite index) needs to break the 1,600 to 1,620 resistance range to set a more bullish tone," it added.

For the week, the composite index rose 1.82 points or 0.11 percent to finish at 1,592.46 points on Friday.

Average daily turnover fell to 580.45 million shares worth P498.75 million, from 702,67 million shares worth P825.43 million the previous week.

RCBC Securities analyst Chelsea Dipasupil said investors are also awaiting positive developments with respect to the economic program proposed by the President.

Presidential advisers have proposed 10 new taxes which essentially would bring in new tax measures while rationalizing existing tax laws and incentives. These include indexation to inflation of the excise tax on tobacco and alcohol, shift to gross form net income taxation, tax amnesty for individuals and corporations, and franchise tax for telcos, among others.

"While these measures may increase tax revenues, these may encounter certain resistance from affected sectors. The bottomline is whether the program shall have addressed critical issues such as addressing the budget deficit, increasing investments and generating employment," Dipasupil said.

BPI Securities said investors are also eagerly awaiting who will be the new cabinet members of the Arroyo government.

Vistan said short-term indicators are warning that the market is vulnerable from a short-term standpoint. "Investors should do well to wait for more corrections to arrive at attractive levels. Be ready to get in when valuations become more reasonable," Vistan said.

Grace Cerdena of stockportal 2tradeasia.com said players are still struggling for incentives. "Some are likely to monitor how fiscal and monetary authorities will address prevailing concerns, especially with the simultaneous increase in prices brought about by volatility in the world crude market," she said.

Abroad, persistent concerns on terrorism again pulled up crude oil prices. World oil prices rose above the $40 to a barrel level, the first time in more than a month. Oil prices soared on concerns over the terror warning from the Bush administration in the US Higher oil prices are negative for the global economy as they act like a tax by slowing down consumer and corporate spending.

BPI Securities said market support is at 1572 while the resistance range is from 1,600 to 1,620.