Given the generally favorable first half earnings results of listed companies, leading stockbrokerage house ATR KimEng Securities Inc. said it expects the stock market to eventually pick up toward the end of the year.
“Thinking the second quarter would show some weakness in earnings, we lowered our estimates but there has been a surprise in the financial results of some companies. We’re reviewing our numbers again. There may be some upside in the market. There should be room for growth,” said Lorenzo T. Roxas, chairman and president of ATR KimEng Securities, in a press briefing.
Roxas said market conditions will likely improve when banks have completed their writedowns.
He said while the market has retested the 2,800 level, it has hit a little bit of resistance given the slowdown in the US economy.
Roxas said companies may be able to sustain growth in the second half as he noted that most listed firms have been buying back their own shares to enhance shareholder value.
Among the sectors that are expected to outperform the market are telecommunications and power. The property and financial services sectors, meanwhile, are feeling the brunt of the economic crisis, marked by soaring costs of oil and construction materials and rising interest rates.
Manuel Tordesillas, president and chief executive officer of ATR KimEng Capital Partners Inc., said the market is ripe for initial public offerings (IPOs) or share issuances in the fourth quarter.
ATR KimEng Securities consistently ranks among the country’s top brokerage houses in terms of value turnover, capturing a 9.52 percent market share in the first seven months of the year. – Zinnia dela Peña