MARKET OUTLOOK
The stock market finished slightly lower on Tuesday in in a day of mixed Asian results, which analysts blamed on the lack of market-moving developments ahead of major earnings results.
The sideways trading could continue without fresh catalysts.
External issues to look out for would be movement of US markets, along with the recent upward movements of oil. Investors in the region were said to have moved cautiously ahead of a deluge of corporate results later in the week.
Investors are waiting for a number of major earnings releases expected this week.
Investors will be hoping for some better-than-expected results to keep the topside momentum in global equities, however if the data starts to show a significant slowing across these key industries then expect both stocks and risk trades to start to come under some heavy pressure.
While equity traders were generally cautious, oil prices continued their rally on Tuesday, jumping to near six-month highs after the US cracked down on Iranian oil exports.
The White House announced Monday it was calling an end to six-month waivers that had exempted countries from unilateral US sanctions on Iranian oil exports.
Starting in May, these countries — China, India, Turkey, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Italy and Greece — would face sanctions if they continue to buy the oil.
This points to a big drop in the supply side, which boosts the commodity’s price. Iran’s daily oil output amounts to 1.3-mil barrels, according to latest figures in end March.
The sustainability of oil’s rally depends on Saudi and other OPEC members’ actions to increase oil supply in the month to come.
Rising prices meant $80 a barrel was now a “possibility”.
Investors also stayed cautious following an earthquake that jolted parts of Luzon on Monday afternoon.
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake was felt in parts of Luzon on Monday, with the worst damage seen in Pampanga as 11 people died and 30 more were reported to be trapped.
Another earthquake was felt on Tuesday afternoon, this time in Samar at magnitude 6.2.
Some investors opted to stay on the sidelines to assess first the impact of the earthquake on some local companies.
