Traders look to earnings results for PSEi push

With much of the global tariff anxiety quieting for now, investors are looking toward upcoming first-quarter earnings results to drive stock market sentiment.

Trading platform 2TradeAsia.com said in an advisory over the weekend that corporate earnings may provide “some guiding force outside of cloudy macro view.”

“We expect the tariff-inlation-interest rate rhetoric to continue unsettling markets through trade and investment flows, with early impact on supply chain shifting and corporate investment decisions already being felt at home,” it said.

Several companies have already expressed their stance after US President Donald Trump announced his “Liberation Day” tariffs, which included a 17-percent duty on goods coming from the Philippines.

Companies with a strong presence abroad, including homegrown fast-food giant Jollibee Foods Corp. and Century Pacific Food Inc., have brushed off the potential impact, saying that they had limited exposure.

But Emperador Inc. was more cautious because of its whisky segment, which exports products to the United States through Scotland.

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Despite this, the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) was able to snap a five-week losing streak last week after closing higher by 0.86 percent to 6,134.62.

Overall, the local stock barometer was able to rebound from its worst performance since the pandemic after Trump chose to pause most of his “Liberation Day” tariffs for 90 days.

As investors release a temporary sigh of relief, 2TradeAsia said earnings “may surprise to the upside” due to better-than-expected foot traffic and easing cost pressures.