The direction of the Philippine stock market will be depend on whether the massive bailout package to ease the financial crisis in the United States is passed by Congress, dealers said. "It really depends on the US bailout," said Ron Rodrigo of Daiwa Securities, adding that, "we are expecting an upside" once the US Congress passes the bailout package.
"There is no development locally that can drive the market. We will probably stay aligned with the US market," said Spencer Yap of BPI Securities. But even passage of the bailout package will not lead to a massive rally, Yap said, as many people already expected the US Congress to approve the bill.
For the week to October 3, the composite index fell 1.2 percent or by 31.02 points to 2,566.21.
Average daily volume for the week rose to 1.788 billion shares worth 2.656 billion pesos (56.3 million dollars) from 1.328 billion shares worth 2.22 billion pesos the previous week.