The country’s main stock index saw continued stellar gains early on in the second quarter although levels above 8,000 could not be sustained as the market corrected on a string of negative news, from disappointing economic growth at home to rate hike uncertainties in the United States.
From a record high of above 8,100 in early April, the Philippine Stock Exchange index closed the quarter at 7,564.50.
Market analysts polled by the Inquirer noted that the third quarter of 2015 offers its own set of challenges and investors may refrain from jumping in as they wait for more clues on the market’s direction for the rest of the year.
Jose Mari Lacson, head of research at stock brokerage firm Campos Lanuza and Co., said the current quarter was a crucial time given the upcoming second quarter earnings season.
BUSINESS
BUSINESS
BUSINESS
“If earnings fall in the second quarter, we will downgrade [our outlook],” Lacson said, adding that lower earnings would likewise make the PSEi relatively more expensive.
“Investors would most likely want to see more solid evidence that the weakness in the first quarter is only temporary and we will slowly see this around August when companies start releasing second quarter earnings results,” April Lee Tan, research head at COL Financial Group Inc., said in an e-mail.
