Trading seen sluggish

MANILA, Philippines - Stock market trading this week is seen to be sluggish ahead of a long weekend break with thin volumes expected.

The Philippine Stock Exchange will be closed on Holy Thursday and Good Friday.

Last week, the PSEi closed at 4,251.64, slightly higher than the previous week’s close

Jun Calaycay of Accord Capital Equities said the market needs to retreat as it has reached overbought conditions for an extended period.

 “Both technical and fundamental conditions supports the view that the market may have to take a dip over the near-term, if only to shed off the excesses of the last two weeks, or even farther back to the end of the first quarter,” Calaycay said.

 “The risks presented by the MENA region, Japan and Europe balances the intermittent positive numbers out of the US. The spate of rising fuel and transport prices on the domestic front, will inevitably reflect on higher consumer prices, notwithstanding the government’s subsidy to the public transport sector,” Calaycay added.

Calaycay, however, said the adjustments made by the Central Bank to the underlying assumptions for growth in the next two years, should restore investor confidence in the market.

He said it would be healthy for the market to retreat to keep it from rising too fast.

Global markets were mostly down for the week. Only the Shanghai, New Zealand, Thailand and Vietnam markets posted gains, alongside the Philippines.