Investors tracking stock movements at a trading floor of a securities firm. — Photo vietnamplus.vn

HÀ NỘI — Following a significant surge driven by the recent upgrade announcement, the stock market entered a period of consolidation and correction last week.

The VN-Index approached the psychological milestone of 1,800 points before swiftly reversing course.

A new record was set on October 14 when the VN-Index surpassed 1,794 points. However, strong profit-taking pressure, particularly in large-cap stocks like those from Vingroup and the banking sector, led to a sharp decline by the end of the week.

It closed the week at 1,731.19 points, down 0.94 per cent from the previous week. In contrast, the HNX-Index rose by 0.91 per cent to 276.11 points.

A notable bright spot last week was the robust recovery of capital flow.

Liquidity on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) increased by 26.4 per cent compared to the prior week, indicating persistent demand despite heightened selling pressure, particularly in large-cap stocks that had previously reached new highs.

However, foreign investors continued to sell off for the 13th consecutive week, though the scale of net selling had narrowed.

The total net sell-off across the market reached over VNĐ5.1 trillion (US$193.6 million), a 7.4 per cent decrease from the previous week.

Despite selling pressure at the end of the week, Vingroup (VIC) remained the top contributor to the VN-Index's gains for the week. Other leading stocks included Vietjet Aviation (VJC), Gelex Electricity (GEE), Techcombank (TCB) and newcomer CRV Real Estate Group (CRV).

Conversely, the most negatively impacted stocks included Vinhomes (VHM), Vietcombank (VCB), Vinpearl JSC (VPL), Vung Tau Tourist (VTG) and FPT Corporation (FPT).

Last week, investor sentiment was influenced by renewed concerns over US-China trade tensions.

However, experts from Asian Securities Corporation (AseanSC) noted that US President Donald Trump's actions were primarily aimed at pressuring negotiations and did not alter the overall global market trend.

On the domestic front, a positive development was the central exchange rate decreasing by VNĐ27 over the past week, down a total of VNĐ197 from its historical peak in August, which somewhat supported market sentiment.

This week, market focus will shift towards the third quarter financial reporting season, while investors continue to watch closely US-China trade developments.

According to Saigon-Hanoi Securities (SHS), the short-term trend for the VN-Index is a strong profit-taking pressure around the 1,780-1,800 point range, correlating with historical peaks from 2018, 2021 and 2022.

The benchmark index may undergo a correction to test the 1,700-point level, although this price range may not be attractive enough for new investments.

SHS advises investors to be cautious with chasing positions and to focus on stocks with reasonable valuations and positive Q3 earnings while maintaining a balanced portfolio, prioritising fundamentally strong stocks.

Experts at AseanSC said that the significant increase in trading volume over the past six weeks reflects a short-term supply advantage.

"The VN-Index is currently undergoing a pullback before resuming its upward trend. The nearest support level is around 1,700 points, with resistance in the 1,750-1,760 point range," they said, recommending that short-term investors maintain a safe portfolio and wait for opportunities as the market fluctuates around support levels.

Similarly, Đinh Việt Bách, an expert from Pinetree Securities, said that the market is likely to adjust to move upward, with the first support level at 1,700 points.

In a more negative scenario, if the VN-Index breaks below this level, it could retreat to the next support level around the 10-week moving average of 1,670 points.

According to Vietnam Construction Securities (CSI), strong selling pressure in the banking, securities and real estate sectors during the final trading session indicates that investor sentiment has become more cautious.

Nevertheless, the 1,720-point level remains an important support zone. CSI maintains a position of holding current portfolios and observing the 1,720–1,760 point range for potential increases in stock allocations. — BIZHUB/VNS