An investor watches stock indices on a mobile phone screen. It is expected that the VN-Index will continue to recover and will approach the resistance zone of 1,370 points.  VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI Securities companies are optimistic about stock market movements this week and are betting the positive trend will continue but the market will witness alternative ups and downs during its uptrend.

The benchmark VN-Index on the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) increased by 0.3 per cent to close last week at 1,357.05 points.

The index gained a total of 1.16 per cent last week.

An average of 739.5 million shares was traded on the southern exchange during each session last week, worth VNĐ23.9 trillion (US$1 billion).

According to SSI Securities Joint Stock Company (SSI), the VN-Index had recovered from the support area of ​​1,352 - 1,340 points, along with an increase in trading volume. The index had returned to the uptrend.

BOS Securities Joint Stock Company (BOS) said the VN-Index received strong support at the area around 1,340 points in the last session of last week.

Technical indicators still maintained signals that the market would recover, BOS said.

“However, the market is likely to face difficulties at 1,370 points in the short term as profit-taking pressure is increasing. Fluctuations are expected to appear more often when the index enters this zone. BOS recommends investors prioritise market observation and maintain their current portfolio,” it said.

“The stock market had a dramatic reversal in the last minutes of the session. Many stocks rose again when the cash flow entered the market robustly and decisively,” Việt Dragon said in last Friday’s market report.

“However, we still see that the stock market is risky and has not shown any signs of stability. Therefore, investors who are holding stocks can sell and should not disburse at this time,” it said.

“The VN-Index got support and reversed back to gaining thanks to a strong cash inflow that can match the profit-taking pressure. It is expected that the VN-Index will continue to recover and will approach the resistance zone of 1,370 points,” it said.

“The effective containment of the COVID-19 pandemic and proper monetary and fiscal policies will be important supportive elements for the market in this period,” said Nguyễn Anh Khoa, Head of Analysis and Investment Consulting Department of Agriseco Securities.

“The resistance area of 1,370-1,400 points will still be a challenge. Therefore, it is likely that the market will witness alternating dropping sessions while gradually moving up to 1,400 points in the second half of August,” he said.

“Although some provinces in Việt Nam are experiencing increasingly strict social distancing measures, the economy continues to show resilience, underpinned by the strength of demand both at home and abroad,” said Anand Pathmakanthan, Head of Regional Equity Research at Maybank Kim Eng Securities Limited.

“This wave of the disease may gradually subside from September, thanks to strict containment measures and accelerated vaccination that will help put the country back on a more solid growth trajectory, with supply chain repositioning being a key long-term driver,” he told a recent online meeting held by Maybank Kim Eng.

“The VN-Index may increase by 10 per cent in the second half of 2021, led by real estate, materials, logistics and retail stocks. With the financial sector showing positive signals when the growth spreads across the market, we still see attractive opportunities in leading banks such as Techcombank (TCB), Vietcombank (VCB), Military Bank (MBB) and VPBank (VPB),” he said.

“The VN-Index had a third consecutive week of recovery last week with increased liquidity compared to the previous week and higher than the 20-week average,” said Saigon-Hanoi Securities Joint Stock Company (SHS).

“Foreign investors turned to be net sellers last week with more than VNĐ2.2 trillion on both exchanges, which also put pressure on the market,” it said.

Industrial stocks gained the most last week with stocks such as Vinaconex (VCG) increasing by 5.2 per cent, Geleximco (GEX) rising by 5.4 per cent, and Hải Phòng Port Joint Stock Company (PHP) gaining by 27.5 per cent.

They were followed by materials stocks such as Hoà Phát Group (HPG) increasing by 0.5 per cent, Nam Kim Group (NKG) rising by 3.6 per cent, Petro Việt Nam Cà Mau Fertiliser JSC (DCM) increasing by 10.6 per cent, and PetroVietnam Fertiliser & Chemicals Corp (DPM) increasing by 19.8 per cent.

The remaining groups all had slight increases such as financial services, community utilities, oil and gas, banking and consumer services, pharmaceutical and healthcare. VNS