The Philippine stock market is expected to trade sideways this week as traders and investors await the release of new jobs data in the coming days.
Analysts will be looking for fresh news, besides the unemployment rate, to guide the market’s direction.
Jonathan Ravelas, a senior adviser at Reyes Tacandong and Co., said the market’s recent performance has been buoyed by the anticipation of a US Federal Reserve rate cut in the coming week.
“Continue to expect the market to move sideways to down within the 6,000-6,500 levels in the near-term,” he said.
The PSEi closed last week at 6,149.13, down a slight 0.1 percent. The broader All Shares index also saw a minor dip of 0.16 percent. Foreign investors were net sellers, with a net outflow of P1.58 billion.
In the coming days, investors will be paying close attention to the release of new employment data for the Philippines, Michael Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., said.
Online trading platform 2TradeAsia.com said that despite a recent uptick in inflation for August, the path for a further interest rate cut by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) by year-end remains firm. 2TradeAsia pointed to resilient GDP growth and rebounding imports as key factors.
This outlook could create buying opportunities for investors, as the PSEi is trading “severely behind historical averages and regional peers,” it said.
2TradeAsia advises investors to look into “growth-oriented sectors like financials and infrastructure to capture easing benefits,” highlighting genuine bargains driven by seasonal consumer spending and the government’s continued infrastructure push.
