Stocks seen to rise

After last week’s decline, the stock market may benefit from month-end window-dressing activities and a prospectively favorable domestic economic growth report due this week.

Last week, the main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index lost 1.23 percent to close at 5,143.35 on Friday due to global growth concerns. BPI Securities said in a research note that the stock market this week “may experience a technical rebound in anticipation of month-end window-dressing and a better second-quarter GDP report.”

The local stock brokerage said the key index support would be at 5,010 and resistance at 5,280.

BPI Securities said the US economic indicators due this week were consumer confidence, GDP, pending homes sales, jobless claims, personal income and outlays and consumer sentiment.

Freya May Natividad, an analyst at 2TradeAsia.com, said investor sentiment this week would continue to glide overseas. Apart from the European monetary officials’ summit, she said additional guidance was anticipated from US Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke’s

speech on Aug. 31 (US time), from which the market awaits clues on the possibility of another bond buyback program (quantitative easing 3).

“The present consolidation of local barometers seems timely as most realign their portfolios with the upcoming recomposition of PSEi basket and sub-sectors on Sept. 10,” Natividad said. “Sectors with stable yields might be preferred, specially with the advent of floods and gyrations overseas.”

Natividad said immediate support was at 5,100 and resistance at 5,200-5,250. Doris C. Dumlao