INVESTOR worries could continue weighing on the stock market, analysts said, but bargain-hunting opportunities might provide some added lift after four straight week-on-week declines ended last Friday.
The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) closed at 6,780.13, up by 1.5 percent from the previous Friday.
Philstocks Financial Inc. research manager Japhet Tantiangco, however, said “trading activity was thin, reflecting tepid conviction.”
“This shows that market confidence is not strong enough yet amid lingering headwinds and lack of fresh funds,” he added.
“Investors are still expected to maintain a cautious stance while waiting for fresh catalysts.”
Tantiangco noted the peso’s continued weakness — the currency returned to an all-time low of P59.00:$1 last Thursday — could also pull the bourse down.
Online brokerage firm 2TradeAsia.com, meanwhile, said “Inflationary pressure and geopolitical risks are starting to permeate” deeper into global markets.
It added that the central banks, including the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, were becoming “less aggressive” regarding previously communicated rate cut paths.
Trade war threats and weak European and China output are adding to headwinds, 2TradeAsia said.
It noted that a “restart in the global rate cycle has been the spring well that fueled local equities” and could see a “gradual evaporation.”
Still, 2TradeAsia said the fourth quarter was looking to track some of the preserved momentum from July-September, when the PSEi grew by 11 percent.
It advised investors to “stay selective on trades.”
Unicapital Group research head Wendy Estacio-Cruz, meanwhile, said that “investors remained cautious due to uncertainties stemming from the continued weakness of the peso against the dollar and ongoing geopolitical tensions.”
“This week, we expect the index to fluctuate between the 6,700 and 6,800 levels in anticipation of fresh catalysts, including the release of November Philippine inflation data on Dec. 5 and the FOMC (the US Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee) meeting on Dec. 18,” she added.
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