Quiet week seen as investors go bottom-up

Trading may be muted this week as investors go on wait-and-see mode amid the ongoing trade war in the West and with upcoming domestic data.

Over the weekend, trading platform 2TradeAsia.com said the lack of bigger catalysts could encourage “bottom-up picking” among investors, meaning they would instead focus on individual companies rather than macroeconomic factors.

Last week, the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) took a hit from US President Donald Trump’s escalating import tariff policies, as fears of recession gripped global markets.

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Investors also briefly considered the impact of former President Rodrigo Duterte’s to face charges of crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court in the Netherlands.

But analysts pointed out that traders were more worried about the global trade war.

The PSEi ended nearly flat as it declined by 0.07 percent week-on-week to 6,294.11.

While the bourse endured three days in the red territory, bargain hunters managed to lift it just below the 6,300 level.

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Michael Ricafort, lead economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., said investors may also look toward upcoming remittance, budget and balance of payments data.

At the same time, 2TradeAsia said the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) teaser about an April rate cut could provide some optimism, although this would also be largely dependent on macroeconomic data.

2TradeAsia sees the index’s immediate support at 6,000 and resistance at 6,400.