LAST week: The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) rebounded from three consecutive weeks of loss. Stock prices rallied from oversold levels as bargain hunters saw listed companies strong enough to go against the trend set by the global-credit crisis. The PSEi rose 138.44 points or 4.9 percent week-on-week to 2,956.02 at the end of trading Friday.

THIS week: “Although we are in a primary bear market at the moment, we do expect the market to continue on with the current technical rally. We are in a short-term bottom after being relatively oversold,” AB Capital Securities stated in its weekly outlook report.

Despite the market’s latest performance, AB Capital said the market wouldn’t turn positive on the bigger picture if it doesn’t break out of the 3,000 level.

“We should be testing [that] late next week. A successful break would give the market a higher close than the prior peaks of March. So far, the market has been able to shrug off negative news and it has shown a lot of resiliency. The concerns in the US have been placed on the back seat and traders have used the lack of fresh negative news to step on the gas pedal,” it added.

For his part, market strategist Jonathan Ravelas of BDO-EPCIB said the market might see a test of the 3,000-3,050 levels in the near-term as implied by last Friday’s close.

A break above 3,050 could bring about more gains toward 3,150. Failure to break above 3,050 could trigger profit taking and a retest of support at 2,850, he said.

STOCKS to watch: AB Capital advised investors to stay liquid in the absence of clear signals in both fundamentals and technicals that may influence the market. “For longer term investors, they should stick to companies with strong fundamentals,” it said.

IPVG Corp. and subsidiary IP Contact Center Outsourcing Inc. have sealed over the weekend a stock-purchase agreement with US-based contact center Interactive Teleservices Corp., also known as Influent,

Sultan Mining readies IPO

SULTAN Mining & Energy Development Corp. (SMEDC) is planning a P480-million initial public offering (IPO) this year to take advantage of strong investor appetite for coal stocks despite challenging market conditions.

THE Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) wants the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to allow brokers to exercise full voting rights during the bourse’s annual shareholders’ meeting in April.

CITISECONLINE.COM Inc. would like to introduce an approach to investment that may offer clients opportunities to make money despite weak market conditions.

LAST week: The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) rebounded from three consecutive weeks of loss. Stock prices rallied from oversold levels as bargain hunters saw listed companies strong enough to go against the trend set by the global-credit crisis.

PGA Cars believes the new Audi A4 it introduced in the Philippine market would be a top seller among premium mid-sized sedans.

Did you know 1: The guest list of Playboy Philipines for this Wednesday’s magazine launch number 200. So far, however, 400 people (okay, men) have called up editor in chief Beting Laygo Dolor to frantically ask for invitations.