Market seen to sustain climb

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) is seen to move higher this week following gains last week.

Michael Ricafort of Yuchengco-owned Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. said the PSEi’s immediate major resistance over the past five months has been at the 6,920 levels, which serve as the next gateway prior to a potential re-test above the psychological 7,000-mark.

He sees immediate minor support at the 6,600 to 6,700 levels to help maintain the strong upward momentum recently.

Last Friday, the PSEi gained for the third day in four days, rising by 32.08 points or 0.5 percent to close at 6,907.79.  It has risen for the third straight week.

Ricafort attributed this to the notable increase in net foreign buying at the local stock market over the past two weeks, the easing of restrictions and the arrival of more COVID-19 vaccines.

“Since the start of 2021, the PSEi’s decline narrowed further to 3.2 percent versus 7,139.71 in end-2020. Since the start of June, the PSEi already gained by 4.2 percent; after a gain of four percent in May; a decline of 1.1 percent in April; a decline of 5.2 percent in March; a gain of 2.8 percent in February; a decline of 7.4 percent in January,”he said.