Asia United Bank Corp. was listed last Friday, with the assigned trading symbol of “AUB.” The listing was actually preceded by an initial public offering (IPO) involving the issuance of 88 million new AUB common shares at the offer price of P95 a share until May 14.
The market made a fantastic weekly advance of 189.91 points or 2.7 percent at the end of trading last week on the back of the investment credit-rating upgrade it received from Standard & Poor’s (S&P). Similar to the first it received from Fitch Ratings over a month ago, the country was given a “stable” outlook while its credit rating was “raised to BBB- from BB+.”
At the 2013 Asean Summit held last week in Brunei Darussalam, P-Noy said the Philippines was no longer the “Sick Man of Asia,” a phrase originally used to refer to China’s weak and impoverished economic disposition in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but now used to describe Asian nations with a similar experience.
The market last Friday ended in exactly the same fashion as it did the week before. It closed at the day’s session high of 6,957.10, which was also an all-time high for the market. Total market transactions for the week hit P90.35 billion, the highest done by the market so far.
Excitement filled the trading floor of the exchange last Friday as the market closed at an all-time high of 6,891.43. Now, the market is technically free to make an unrestrained run through uncharted territory, so to speak. Looking at the week’s trading record, however, the prospects of a market rally that could turn into a raging bull run is still far from happening.
After an impressive weekly market advance of 328.76 points or 5.04 percent (buoyed by the upgrade given by Fitch Ratings on the country) when it closed for the Holy Week, the market retreated to negative territory last week, ending with a net loss of 120.33 points or 1.76 percent at 6,727.14.
Last Wednesday, the market hit a record high of 6,847.47 as the country was accorded for the first time an investment grade rating.
Like the old saying “March winds and April showers bring forth May flowers,” the market tends to follow a pattern similar to the passing of the season. But this year, the market’s behavior looks different—it’s out of its seasonal pattern.
Immortalized as an ominous time in William Shakespeare’s play “Julius Caesar,” the Ides of March—or the period between March 13 and 15 in the old Roman calendar—seemed to have played out again as a dangerous date with what had happened last week.
The market is unstoppable. After a slight pullback the other week— the first this year— it resumed its rally with a weekly gain of 191.50 points, equivalent to 2.88 percent, from the previous week as it closed last Friday at 6,833.77.
At the end of trading last Friday, the market posted a loss of 79.18 points or 1.18 percent to close at 6,642.27. Along with its additional two consecutive days of losses on Tuesday and Wednesday, this made the market to suffer its first weekly loss for the year.
WHAT’S the difference between a bull market and a bull run? I don’t blame you if you find yourself struggling with these terminologies. With what has been happening in the market, this feeling of perplexity is understandable. I, myself, has been searching for the fine lines to define the difference and understand what exactly is happening.
