Philippine stocks are expected to move sideways as investors await the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas policy meeting later this week.
Analysts said investors would wait for the outcome of BSP’s monetary policy decision. “A policy rate cut is expected to sustain the local market’s upward momentum while an unchanged policy rate might lead to a market decline,” Philstocks Financial Inc. research head Japeth Tantiangco said. “Investors are also expected to monitor the development at Wall Street. A further easing of recession concerns is seen to help living market sentiment while a worsening of the said concerns is expected to weigh on the market,” he said.Last week, the bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index rose 0.64 percent to close at 6,647.80, while the broader all-shares index climbed 0.32 percent to 3,608.24.
The benchmark index traded in the red at the start of the week over worries on possible US recession, but sentiment turned positive as the government reported a strong 6.3-percent second-quarter gross domestic product growth. Average daily value traded reached P5.1 billion, slightly higher than P4.93 billion from previous week’s level.