Share prices are likely to consolidate in the short term following a correction on Friday and recent upswing.

BPI Securities expects the market correction to continue over the near-term. “However, we still expect buying support to strengthen ahead of the year-end closing of books.”

Philex Mining led losers as investors sold off the stock following news that First Pacific had bought out key owners in the company. Other index losers were Ayala Land, Metrobank, Ayala Corp. and BPI.

Analyst Maria Arlysa Narciso of AB Capital Securities says the market is still within the trading range of its channel line.

“Though following an uptrend, recent market movements indicate that it is no longer going sharply upward.”

“Moves are largely due to a few stocks which are, however, not reflective of true market conditions. The trend we see is supported by the sideways move of Stochastics. The signs of a dip, seen in both MACD and RSI, signal profit-taking to a minimal move towards negative territory,” says Narciso.

Narciso advised investors to look beyond the usual noise makers and invest in other stocks with big growth potential.
Stocks under utilities, those that would benefit from the renewable energy law, are great picks.

The local bourse had its share of ups and downs last week. Movements of and news in some large cap stocks influenced the market's direction.

Narciso says the biggest noise maker was PX (Philex Mining Corp.), in which foreign firms expressed interest for majority ownership.

Other smaller caps shared the limelight due to aggressive investor activity in them. CPM (Century Peak Metals) has been among the highly traded stocks.

The index managed to post two successive year-to-date highs earlier last week before declining on the latter part.

Narciso noted some heavy trading and gains in Philex and PLDT which pushed the index to high levels as well as investor interest in smaller cap stocks.

Other external influences also affected the local market's sentiment and movement. The Dow dropped in some days and has been slightly ignoring positive economic data lately.

“Now that the election season has finally begun, the market is expected to draw different reactions as developments unfold,” says Narciso.

“Bickering and political violence among parties and clans have also brought a negative feel for the economy.”

“Investors may be apprehensive that this could result to instability. Peace and order are among the important factors that investors are keeping their eyes on, including the platforms of those running for president,” Narciso added.