Stock market headed for another week of sober trading - analysts

The stock market looks headed for another week of sober trading with limited action coming from the Internet stocks and selected blue chips, stock and selected blue chips, stock analysts said.

"The main factor that continues to drag the market is still foreign investors' sentiment particularly on political issues of the country," All AsiaCapital and Trust vice president for research Helen Alvarez said.

"With a TRO (temporary restraining order) issued on the BW investigation, foreign fund managers will see this as a step backward. Confidence will once again be gained if the people behind the mess are pinpointed and properly reprimanded," Alvarez added.

The PSE composite index (Phisix) ended at 1681.71 points last Friday and would likely move sideways between 1600 and 1730 this week, the All AsiaCapital official said.

With the absence of cues from other sectors, Alvarez said the Internet-related stocks will continue their dominance of the market. However, she cautioned that with the waning signs in Internet trading abroad, "we do expect stories of disappointment for these quasi-Internet issues once they fail to deliver what is promised."

Some of the tech stocks gaining prominence in the local equities market at PhilWeb, Vantage Equities, AJO.net and Imperial Resources while those planning to make similar moves into the Internet include Wellex Industries, Island Mining, Apex Mines, Armstrong Holdings, Solid Group and EasyCall Communications.

Irving Ackerman of I. Ackerman and Co. said it might take "a few more months" before the market resumes a steady uptrend. "The perceptions of our market remains not very favorable at the moment, but that will change."

He said heavy foreign selling, particularly on the blue chips, continue to muddle the overall picture, as foreign fund managers unload their stock portfolio in the Philippines to look for better prospects elsewhere.

"The market right now is very unpredictable... there is much volatility but these are from second-and third-liner stocks," Ackerman said.

But he added among the blue-chip stocks to get into all Meralco, San Miguel, Benpres, Ayala Land and Ayala Corp.

Foreigners were once again net sellers last Friday, buying P404.6-million worth of stocks but selling P751.8 million. Meralco stocks were one of the most affected as its "B" shares dropped to P68 per share on a huge P210-million net foreign take-out.

Marlene Mencias of Equitiworld Securities Corp. said the foreign selling binge has put some blue chips nearly on oversold levels, but investors' attention, specially the local players, will continue to be focused on the speculative stocks -- in this case the Internet issues.

"They're going to have the volume but we're also looking at selected blue chips. It is still largely a sentiment-driven market" she said.