PHL shares trade in tight range on FED worries, Q1 data

Share prices on the Philippine Stock Exchange moved in a tight range early in the session Thursday as the market sentiment fell on US Federal Reserve (FED) worries.

 

Still, expectations of a rosy economic turnover during the first three months kept prices from seeking the next support level on the benchmark index.

 

"We have been trading in a tight range to sideways as there's not much heavy news to drive the market," Arlysa Narciso, analyst at AB Capital Securities Inc., told GMA News Online.

 

The PSEi slipped 6.09 points or 0.08 percent to 7,378.98 as of 10:29 a.m.

 

"We have been looking for guidance from foreign markets, particularly the US, where the FED is divided on whether to stop or continue its large-scale asset purchases," Narciso said.

 

"On the local scene, there are no positive or negative news yet. We're still doing good, while we wait for the first quarter economic data," she added.

 

In a daily research note, Accord Capital Equities Corp. analyst Justino Calaycay said investors are on a wait-and-see move ahead of the release of GDP numbers next week.

 

"The official data will either validate or invalidate these expectations—and how the  actual number comes out, the market will  accordingly react," he said.

 

According to Reuters, US stocks fell on Wednesday with the S&P 500 posting its biggest decline in three weeks, after minutes from the latest US Federal Reserve meeting showed some officials were open to tapering large-scale asset purchases as early as at the June meeting.

 

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 80.41 points, or 0.52 percent, at 15,307.17. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 13.81 points, or 0.83 percent, at 1,655.35. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 38.82 points, or 1.11 percent, at 3,463.30. — VS, GMA News