Market seen volatile with upward bias

MANILA, Philippines - The local stock market is likely to see highly volatile trade with an upward bias as renewed worries on the Eurozone debt crisis and the strength of the US recovery keep investors on edge.

Last week, the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) logged a new all-time high at 5,219 this week, mainly driven by upbeat investor sentiment. It finished 1.16 percent higher week on week to close at 5,156.46.

“We only see minor corrections for the week ahead as we think there is still so much liquidity on the sidelines. We recommend investors to hold positions as we think a major correction is yet to occur unless substantial amount of liquidity is taken away or there is significant change in market sentiment,” said Gregg Ilag of AB Capital Securities.

Ilag said the market still has room for growth but may enter correction phase.

2tradeasia’s Freya Natividad said investors are on the hunt for fresh leads that could catalpult the main benchmark index to 5,500.

“Positive force is anticipated in the coming months, beginning with China’s receptive stance to complement fiscal adjustments in industrialized Western nations,” Natividad said.

Ilag said investors are awaiting more economic data from the US to gauge where its economy is heading.