Thin trading seen

Investors are likely to take their cue from foreign developments in the coming days due to the lack of compelling news locally that led to lackluster trading the week before.

The local index ended the week nearly unchanged at 4,302.43 after opening last Monday at 4,312.96.

“Flat movements marked the PSEi for fourf straight days as investors remained jittery over the situation in Europe. Our market seemed to lose steam even with the lackluster earnings of some companies,” local brokerage firm AB Capital Online said in its weekly review.

The firm noted that a few stocks performed better than most last week.

Conglomerate San Miguel Corp. was up 6.70 percent after reporting strong third-quarter earnings, posting a triple digit growth of 112 percent in operating income.

Food and beverage firm Universal Robina Corp. was up 7.45 percent and port operator International Container Terminal Services Inc. closed 3.02 percent higher. SMC, URC, and ICTSI were also included in the MSCI Global Index.

Heading into next week, AB Capital said investors might look into US preliminary gross domestic product (GDP) report, which is released on a quarterly basis.

“Strong results from the preliminary GDP may trigger renewed optimism for the global economy as the past quarters of the preliminary GDP have been disappointing,” AB Capital said, adding that Europe’s debt woes would remain a big concern.—Paolo G. Montecillo