Cautious trading seen

Local stocks are seen to enter another cautious trading week while awaiting fresh catalysts.

Last week, the main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) lost 53.99 points to close on Friday at 6,730.96.

“Chartwise, continue to expect the index to consolidate between the 6,650-6,800 levels in the week ahead,” said BDO Unibank strategist Jonathan Ravelas.

Ravelas noted that the local stocks index was in negative territory for most of last week as concerns over the crisis in Iraq and the central bank’s decision on whether or not to tighten its monetary policy dampened investor sentiment.

But instead of an outright increase in overnight policy rates, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas surprised the market with a 25-basis point increase in special deposit account (SDA) rates.

For this month, a joint publication by First Metro Investment Corp. and the University of Asia and the Pacific, “The Market Call,” said Philippine equities might remain quiet with potential downsides. Doris C. Dumlao