Philippine country-specific exchange traded fund has enjoyed a strong week, with Philippine stocks gaining on their best week since June, as the number of coronavirus cases slowed and foreign investors returned to this southeast Asian emerging market.
The iShares MSCI Philippines ETF (NYSEArca: EPHE) was among the best performing non-leveraged ETFs of Friday, rising 2.6%, and the ETF increased 7.5% over the past week. Meanwhile, the iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (NYSEArca: IEMG) was 0.4% higher on Friday and up 1.6% over the past week.
The Philippine market has turned around after the economic re-openings and a drop in the pace of Covid-19 cases, which helped bring back foreign investors whom became net buyers of local stocks on Wednesday after 28 days of selling, Bloomberg reports.
The Philippine Stock Exchange Index advanced for a fifth consecutive session on Friday, rising almost 10% this week, the biggest among more than 90 global equity indices tracked by Bloomberg.
Overseas funds added a net $16.4 million of Philippine shares on Friday, the most since August 13 and marking the third straight day of purchases.
Some market observers predicted a rebound in Philippine markets after their sharp underperformance relative to regional peers, pointing to a potential increase in consumer spending and positive seasonal returns for local stocks during the fourth quarter.
“The market could still trend up from further economic reopening, slowing Covid cases and healthier earnings” but “valuation is a bit high,” Robert Ramos, head of trust and investments group at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp, told Bloomberg. “These are exciting times but people are still on guard with their money.”
Some remain wary of about a recovery in corporate earnings after the country struggled for most of the year.
“This bounce must be validated by earnings, for it’s primarily driven by expectations the economy will improve as it further opens up,” Fitzgerald Aclan, CIO at United Coconut Planters Bank, told Bloomberg. “If numbers disappoint, we’d move downwards and sideways again.”
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