MANILA: Mounting concern about the future of the US economy will likely weigh down Philippine share prices in the coming week, dealers said Friday.
“The outlook of the analysts are all bleak,” said Claire Quiray of Accord Capital Equities.
“Domestically, at home, we are still expecting our economic figures to be rosy but like it or not, we are still affected by the United States. The lack of confidence (in the US) of most investors in general will prevail.”
“Generally, investors here are more concerned about the economy in the United States and its impact on our country and on other regions,” she said.
Francisco Liboro of PCCI Securities added: “The market will continue to trade cautiously and take its cue from US equities. A weaker US economy is seen to eventually crimp the country’s own economic growth.” However some dealers said the recent downturns in the market may be seen as an opportunity for bargain buys.
“The valuation of stocks is attractive after recent declines. The market may see some improvement next week as the selling this week may have been overdone,” said Gomer Tan of Regina Capital Development Corp. There were only three days of trading this week as Monday and Tuesday were both public holidays.
For the week to January 4, the composite index fell 142.23 points or by 3.92 percent to 3,479.37 points. Average daily turnover rose to 2.8 billion shares but average daily value fell to 1.97 billion pesos ($48.01 million) from 1.74 billion shares worth 3.0 billion pesos in the previous week. (Daily Times)