Stocks likely to move upwards this week

MANILA, Philippines - Local stocks are likely to move upwards this week as investors accumulate stocks that are expected to perform in the second half of the year.

“For the weak ahead, the PSEi may find the leverage to grab another advance,” said Arlysa E. Narciso of AB Capital Securities .

Last week, the main composite index rose 79 points to close at 2,477.44 with telecommunications giant Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. and Manila Electric Co. dominating the market, PLDT gained 3.2 percent to settle at P2,385 while Meralco went up 7.5 percent.

Investment stock portal 2tradeasia.com, however, said the PSEi may find itself on a weak base with only a few stocks seen pushing the index and dismal economic data dragging the market. “There is a small room for a gain but economic worries may still persist,” 2tradeasia.com said.

2tradeasia.com said select players may cash in on gains ahead of the US holiday on July 3.

Investors are expected to keep an eye on economic figures to determine the true financial state of the country. Just last week, the government reported that the country’s deficit surged to P123.2 billion compared with only P18.8 billion last year. 

The figure is already nearly half of the targeted full deficit of P250 billion.

For the period January to May, the government already borrowed a total of P258.6 billion to help ward off recession.

“Looking at the economic data closely, figures are not even pointing to better times ahead. Despite all optimism being fed into the market, the numbers speak for themselves and show that the road is not as easy as it may seem,” Narciso said.

2tradeasia.com pegged market’s resistance at 2,500.