Market seen to maintain upward trend this wk

MANILA, Philippines - The uptrend in local equities remains intact, a key factor that will encourage more investors to troop to the market and push the main index closer to the 6,700 territory, analysts said.

Investors will look at first quarter corporate earnings reports and several key economic data abroad for trading leads this week, analysts also said.

“While general market sentiment was expecting for a bullish pullback to major supports 6,480 and 6,265-6,300, indicators and current momentum suggests an attempt towards next resistances at 6,700 and 6,830-6,850,” said Nisha S. Alicer, research strategist at DA Market Securities.

“On a technical basis, the four-month upward trend remains intact,” said Joyce Anne J. Ramos, an analyst at AB Capital Securities Inc. The brokerage firm pegged the support level at 6,530 and resistance at 6,740.

Week-on-week, the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) gained 1.13 percent or 74.22 points to end at 6,671.18 amid the shortened trading week due to the Lenten holiday. It is the PSEi’s highest closing since ending at 6,728 on July 30. 

The uptick was led by the properties (+2.13 percent) and financial sector (+1.78 percent). Average value turnover slipped to P6.68 billion from the previous week’s P8.25 billion, but foreigners continued picking up local stocks.

“Positive sentiment and market direction moving forward may still be supported with positive first quarter corporate earnings,” Alicer said, adding that investors should buy on dips.

Given the shortened trading week, the index is more susceptible to a sudden drop or spike up, depending on the nature of the updates, Ramos said.

For instance, investors will listen to the speeches of the Bank of Japan and US Federal Reserve chiefs.

Key data to be released include US building permits, unemployment claims, existing and new home sales, Philly Fed Manufacturing index and China’s HSBC Flash Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ index that might affect overseas trades, Ramos said.