Philippine stocks seen trading higher

MANILA, Philippines—Local stocks are expected to trade higher this week as investors ride on the wave of optimism that swept global financial markets while local markets were on a long weekend break.

The equities markets were closed Monday and Tuesday in observance of Heroes’ Day and the end of Ramadan, respectively. Last week, the main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index shed 0.79 percent to close at 4,305.56 on Friday.

“We have a lot of catching up to do,” said Eagle Equities president Joseph Roxas.

On Monday night, US stocks posted hefty gains as the markets were relieved that damage from Hurricane “Irene” wasn’t so bad as initially expected. At the same time, US Federal Reserve chair Ben Bernanke’s statements on the economy eased fears of the US falling into another recession.

Bernanke’s statement that the US’ monetary authority did not see any urgent need for a third round of quantitative easing (QE3) through bond buy-backs boosted hopes that the US economy was not yet poised for a “double dip” recession.

Justino Calaycay Jr., a dealer at Accord Capital Equities Corp., said stocks fell last week with the PSEi going past the critical 4,330-support as investors opted to hold cash over an extended weekend.

“Easy culprits to the general pessimism continue to be the ailing US economy and recession fears emanating from Europe,” Calaycay said.