TRADING in the equities and fixed-income markets remained robust in the first quarter of 2021, with local retail investors accounting for 74.3 percent of stock market transactions as of end-March, according to a report by the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) to the Capital Market Development Council (CMDC).
The PSE reported that retail investors accounted for 43.3 percent of the volume traded by local investors compared to just 18.2 percent in 2019 and 26.9 percent in 2020.
It also saw investor-related trading making up 59 percent of the total traded volume in the fixed-income market during the same period.
Finance Secretary and CMDC chairman Carlos Dominguez III said the increase in retail investor participation in both markets points to the trust and confidence of the public in the regulatory bodies that are tasked to keep their capital and investment returns safe.
“Let’s keep that in mind—the environment of confidence in the system. Regulators are so important to provide guarantees to investors and ensure them that they are not going to be cheated,” Dominguez told his fellow CMDC members during a recent meeting of the council.
PSE president Ramon Monzon said that despite the significant decline in foreign participation in the stock market to just 25.7 percent in the first quarter of 2021 from 55.5 percent in 2019 and 45.4 percent in 2020, the average trading volume still rose by 49.6 percent from 2020 up to the first quarter of 2021, “indicating that local investors have stepped up.”
The year-to-date average daily value turnover in the PSE as of end-March 2021 was P11 billion, higher than the average of P7.35 billion in 2020, and the P7.29 billion in 2019.
The month of January 2021 saw a daily value turnover of P11.04 billion, which then went up to P12.35 billion in February and eased to P9.88 billion in March.
“Market liquidity is off to a good start. Trading in the first quarter remains robust. We have almost a 50 percent increase in value turnover. Retail investors are very active in the stock market at least in the first quarter of 2021,” Monzon said during the meeting.