On the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), the market benchmark VN-Index finished last week at 1,284.08 points, a 1.81 per cent decline. — Photo nld.com.vn

 HÀ NỘI — The stock market marked its first weekly fall in four, with the VN-Index breaking down 1,300 points.

This has led analysts to suggest that the market is likely in an inevitable correction phase, but it is necessary to accumulate more before there is a new rally.

On the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), the market benchmark VN-Index finished last week at 1,284.08 points, a 1.81 per cent decline. The index hit the highest close since May 11 last Wednesday. 

The HNX-Index on the Hà Nội Stock Exchange (HNX) fell by 2.01 per cent to end the week at 306.44 points. 

For the week, the VN-Index lost 0.3 per cent after gaining for three consecutive sessions, while the HNX-Index slipped 1.3 per cent. 

Trading value on HOSE increased by 4 per cent over the previous week to nearly VNĐ81,2 trillion (US$3.5 billion), equivalent to a gain of 4.1 per cent in trading volume to over 2.9 billion shares. 

The trading value on the HNX also climbed 17.5 per cent to VNĐ12.05 trillion, equal to the trading volume of 473 million shares, up 12.8 per cent. 

On the other hand, foreign investors posted a positive week after net buys in all five sessions with a total value of more than VNĐ770 billion. 

Leading the net buying list were VN-Diamond fund certificates (HoSE: FUEVFVND) with a value of VNĐ478 billion, followed by Petrovietnam Fertiliser & Chemicals Corporation (HoSE: DPM) and Masan Group (HoSE: MSN) with a net buying value of VNĐ372 billion and VNĐ244 billion, respectively. 

Meanwhile, Hoà Phát Group (HoSE: HPG) was net sold the most, with a value of VNĐ262 billion.

Experts from SSI Securities Securities said that at the current state, the benchmark would retest the important support level of ​​1,280 points in the next session. If it maintained above this level, the index  would still have a chance to test the resistance zone of 1,300 points. 

However, if it broke below the 1.280 threshold, the VN-Index would likely continue to correct to the support areas of around 1,250 - 1,261 points.

According to Saigon - Hanoi Securities JSC (SHS), after the VN-Index surpassed the psychological threshold of 1,300 points last week with weak momentum and three weekly gains, the market may face corrections to retest this level and in fact, the market witnessed a strong decrease at the end of the week, closing below 1,300 points.

The current correction is not really negative, but rather eliminating and accumulating more to wait for the opportunity to hike above the psychological threshold again, the securities firm added.

On the technical front, there is support for the recovering trend, with the VN-Index bouncing off the psychological resistance level of 1,200 points and hitting the psychological resistance level of 1,300 points considered as the first milestone of the next recovery wave.

However, the psychological resistance level of 1,300 points was tested after breaching this level in the middle of the week, but fell back when sell-off force raised strongly at the end of the week.

It is very likely that the market is in an inevitable correction phase and needs to accumulate more before there is a new rally. 

SHS said that the market had recovered strongly from the bottom but valuation was still at an attractive level as the price to earning ratio (P/E) of the benchmark was still around 14 times. 

Many listed companies still had attractive valuations, the ongoing correction would be opportunities for long-term investors to increase their stock proportions.

With the recovery of the economy post-pandemic and impressive business results of listed companies in the first quarter of 2022, the current stock price levels were opening up many long-term investment opportunities. 

Long-term investors could take advantage of market corrections to disburse investments, SHS recommended.

Mirae Asset Securities (Việt Nam) said that the VN-Index surpassed and maintained the 1,300 point mark in just two sessions, showing that fears of buying in while the benchmark above 1,300 points was preventing the index's recovery.

In particular, there was a time when the VN-Index inched close to the resistance level of 1,320 points, but then dropped again. So in the short term, the index might be entering a correction phase. VNS