Wall Street rally sparks hope, energy in PH investors

Traders coming back from the four-day Holy Week break are seen to be invigorated by the positive performance of the US market last Friday, possibly lifting the Philippine Stock Exchange Index after reclaiming the 6,900 level.

The benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average and the broader S&P 500 both ended the week on a good note, allowing local investors to gain confidence.“The record performance from Wall Street, if it continues, is expected to give positive spillovers to the local market,” said Japhet Tantiangco, research manager at Philstocks Financial Inc.

Upcoming domestic inflation data may further turn things around, according to Michael Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp.

“As more market players/participants return from the Holy Week holidays, [this] would lead to more trading values and activities that would support the market,” he said.

Ricafort added that with local March inflation expected to be within the 2 to 4 percent target range of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), investors were looking forward to possible policy rate cuts this year.

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The latest Philippine inflation data are set to be released on April 5, while the BSP monetary policy meeting is scheduled on April 8.

First Metro Investment Corp. and University of Asia and the Pacific noted “some difficulty” in breaking the 7,000 barrier as investors awaited first-quarter earnings. INQ