“ANEMIC” was the word used by stock market technical analyst and stock broker Hernan Segovia to describe the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) Composite Index since the start of 2020. According to him investors seemed to lack any willingness to either buy or sell shares, and were content to just let things be regardless of the good and bad news.
“It’s very anemic, so to speak. We lack volume, we lack direction; directionless. So to speak. We neither go up nor go down. We are in this boring situation or boring range right now,” Segovia said.
Since the start of 2020, the PSEi has hovered between 7,600 to 7,800 points. Further, buying volume was relatively light throughout the first two weeks of the year, despite a strong peso and a few positive economic news.
“We have good and bad news but there’s no reaction. US-China deal – no reaction; Taal eruption – no reaction. So the market is boring right now,” Segovia said, adding that the only exceptions are one or two stocks, which have recovered from their losses in the previous year.
“We at least have a few picks – two or three stocks that are giving the market some excitement. But overall it’s very anemic,” Segovia said.
The only good news is that the Philippine equities market seems to be immune from bad news, whether it is the Taal volcano eruption or the heightened tensions between Iran and the US. So despite all the bad catalysts, the PSEi seems stable for now./PN
