Recovery seen but further declines likely

THE stock market could trade either way this week, analysts said, with local investors seen providing a boost but fresh US tariffs on Chinese goods likely to spur selling.

Eagle Equities, Inc. research head Christopher Mangun, in a market note, said he expected a recovery after the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) traded mostly down last week.

“There is strong indication that the index will end in the green next (this) week,” he said on Friday.

“The bottom line is that the market is moving away from relying on foreign funds. The market may take a little longer to climb as it absorbs all this foreign selling but eventually it will stop,” he claimed.

Most opportunities, Mangun added, are in second-tier and speculative issues — a situation that will continue until year-end or until blue chip firms start to perform better.

Timson Securities, Inc. trader Jervin de Celis, meanwhile, expects the market to hover between 7,300 to 7,500 with Washington expected to announce fresh tariffs on some $200 billion worth of Chinese goods.

“While this news is nothing new, it might affect sentiments across risky assets such as stocks,” he said.

“We are also waiting for new catalysts to push our index above 7,500 but I think it is a bit unlikely to happen … since most of the factors that are dragging our market come from the West due to their stronger economy,” de Celis added.

The PSEi dropped by 1.39 percent or 104.22 points to close at 7,413.15 on Friday while the wider All Shares declined 1.02 percent or 47.01 points to finish at 4,555.30.

Week-on-week, the PSEi shed 185.49 points or 2.44 percent with net foreign selling at P33.52 billion.

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