Dung Quất Oil Refinery in central Quảng Ngãi Province, operated by The Bình Sơn Refining and Petrochemical Company (BSR). BSR rose 4.3 per cent last week. — VNA/VNS Photo Huy Hùng

HÀ NỘI - The market will continue to move sideways this week with low liquidity to gradually form a strong enough accumulation base before returning to the uptrend, analysts said.

The benchmark VN-Index on the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) gained 0.27 per cent to close Friday at 1,498.89 points.

“Although the VN-Index lost the psychological threshold of 1,500 points, it still ended last week above the support area of ​​1,485-1,490 points, showing that the uptrend is slightly affected, but is still not a major concern,” said Saigon-Hanoi Securities Joint Stock Company (SHS).

“Therefore, in the next trading week from February 28 to March 4, VN-Index may struggle and move sideways around the psychological threshold of 1,500 points to wait for a chance to go up again,” it said.

"Investors who bought in the sessions of January 12, January 18 and January 24 can continue to hold the current portfolio. The resistance area of ​​1,530-1,550 points can be reached in the next few days. In the negative scenario, if the VN-Index falls to the range of 1,425-1,450 points, investors may consider increasing the proportion of stocks in the portfolio," SHS recommended.

The Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Việt Nam (Vietcombank) said cash flow would return to the group of large-cap stocks, which had had a rather deep decline last week.

"With such developments, short-term investors can disburse a small proportion in the group of large-cap stocks leading the market, while mid- and long-term investors should still wait for more stable trading before considering disbursement," VCBS recommended.

According to VCBS, short-term profit-taking force is still quite large around 1,520 points, so the index is still tending to move sideways around 1,500 points since the beginning of February.

Besides, developments related to Russia-Ukraine tensions also raised concerns about the short-term market outlook. The bottom-fishing demand in the past week remained, but it was not strong enough to make VN-Index go against the general trend of the world market.

Phú Hưng Securities Joint Stock Company (PHS) stated that the market reversed and gained again in the last session of last week when investors seemed to have eased their worries about the tension between Russia and Ukraine.

In technical terms, the VN-Index gained again. The trading volume decreased compared to the previous session but was still above the 20-session average, meaning that the cash flow in the market has not changed significantly.

“Technical indicators showed mixed signals, showing that the index is moving in a narrow range, with support area around 1,470 - 1,480 points and resistance around 1,520 - 1,530 points,” it said.

“For the Hà Nội Stock Exchange, HNX Index is experiencing a similar situation. The index is also struggling in a narrow range, with support around 425 points and resistance around 425-443 points.

“Investors should keep their portfolios in balance, with priority given to stocks with good fundamentals, positive business expectations in 2022 and is attracting strong cash flow," it recommended.

According to statistics of Saigon-Hanoi Securities Joint Stock Company (SHS), the tension between Russia and Ukraine has caused world oil prices to continue to climb. This helped the oil and gas group to perform best last week.

They included Bình Sơn Refinery (BSR), up 4.2 per cent, Việt Nam National Petroleum Group (PLX), up 4.3 per cent, Petrovietnam Transportation Corporation (PVT) up 6.1 per cent, PV Oil (OIL) up 10.6 per cent, PetroVietnam Drilling & Well Services Corporation (PVD) up 10.9 per cent, PetroVietnam Technical Services Corporation (PVS) up 16.6 per cent, PetroViet Nam Coating JSC (PVB) up 24.3 per cent and PetroVietNam Chemical And Services Joint Stock Corporation (PVC) up by 31.6 per cent.

Pharmaceutical and medical groups also had a positive trading week in the context that the number of COVID-19 infections nationwide continuously peaked, with key gainers being Lâm Đồng Pharmaceutical JSC (LDP) up by 2.8 per cent, Vietnam Pharmaceutical Corporation - JSC (DVN) and DHG Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company (DHG) both up 4.5 per cent, Japan Vietnam Medical Instrument Joint Stock Company (JVC) up 5.1 per cent, Thái Nguyên International Hospital JSC (TNH) up 6.2 per cent and Mekophar Chemical Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company (MKP) up 33.1 per cent.

On the other hand, some industry groups dropped slightly such as consumer goods, finance, community utilities, industrial information technology and banking. VNS