Market Matters - July 7, 2007

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) was up by 45.84 (+0.34%) on Friday to close at 13611.68.
US unemployment rate is unchanged at 4.5% in June. Jobs created were better than expected as payrolls rise by 132,000. Wages gain.
Oil prices rise on concerns that unrest in Nigeria may damage exports.
Source: Bloomberg TV

* An analyst interviewed in Bloomberg also presented his technical analysis of the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA). He said that the chart with the indicators he is using as his refernece is signalling a significant reversal in about 1 1/2 to two weeks time. Though the DJIA may even reach 14,000, he sees a correction of up to 23% that will run for 6 to 8 months. The US equities market has been on the uptrend for more than 50 months now. The analyst says that the decline taht may come is just a healthy correction of the extended run up and is not an indication of a coming bear market.

It would be interesting to see how WallStreet performs up to the end of the year and how its movement will affect the Philippine Stock Market in the same time frame.



In the News:

Forex Reserves
The country's Gross International Reserves (GIR) rose further to a historic high of $26.4 bn in end-June (the previous all-time high was at $25.6 bn in May). The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas reported foreign capital continued to flow into the economy.
The figure is close to hitting the high-end of the full-year target of between $26-$26.6 bn.
The GIR in June is equivalent to 4.9 months worth of imports of goods and payment of services. It is also equivalent to 5.3 times the country's short-term, foreign currency-denominated debt based on original maturity and 2.8 times based on residual maturity.

Budget Spending and the Deficit
The Philippine National Government spent PhP 41.9 bn less than what is programmed in the first half, and the lower-than-expected spending helped rein in the budget deficit, according to the preliminary data from the Department of Finance.
For the period up to June, PhP 547.4 bn has only been spent vs he PhP 589.3 bn allocated for operations, infrastructure, social services and other expenditures. This was mainly attributed to the strong peso and the low interest rates, which reduced the government's debt servicing cost.
As a result, the budget deficit in the first half was estimated to have stood at just PhP 37.7 bn. Had the government spent as programmed, the deficit would have been PhP 79.6 bn. The full year target is at only PhP 63 bn.
Source/Reference: Philippine Daily Inquirer - July 7, 2007


The week that was - July 2- 6, 2007

---------------------last wk. -------this wk -------(+/-) -------(%chng )
PHISIX ----------3,665.23------3,758.84-----(+93.61)----(+2.55% )
HOLDINGS ------2,194.41-------2,270.07----(+75.66)----(+3.44% )
INDUSTRIAL ---5,148.42-------5,159.29-----(+10.87)---(+0.21% )
PROPERTY-------1,788.37------1,840.34-----(+51.97)----( +2.90% )
FINANCIAL------922.06--------1,012.30-----(+90.24)----(+9.78% )
MINING-OIL-----6,503.23------6,792.89-----(+289.66)---(+4.45% )
ALL SHARES -----2,361.15------2,411.33------(+50.18)----( +2.12% )

TOP GAINERS:
1. APR: PhP7.00;+75.00%
2. PA: PhP0.0525;+64.06%
3. ILI: PhP1.30; +44.44%

WORST DECLINERS:
1. WIN: PhP0.45; -16.67%
2. PRC: PhP3.35; -16.25%
3. DHC: PhP5.20; -13.33%

VALUE TURNOVER:
1. ALI: PhP3,496 mn (close: PhP17.75; +1.43%)
2. TEL: PhP1,913 mn (close: PhP2,715.00; +2.45%)
3. AC: PhP1,127 mn (close: PhP565.00; +3.67%)