HÀ NỘI — The market is predicted to move sideways or step up very little due to the cautious sentiment of investors approaching the end of the year.

The VN-Index on the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange fell  0.65 per cent to end trading at 912.26 points, totaling a five-day fall of 4.18 per cent.

On the Hà Nội Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index also edged down 0.08 per cent to 104.45 points. It dropped a total of 2.07 per cent on a weekly basis.

An average of 235.6 million shares was traded in each session last week on the two exchanges, worth VNĐ5.3 trillion (US$225 million).

The Vietnamese market witnessed five straight falling sessions last week with low trading liquidity as investors’ sentiment turned negative amid uncertainty on the international market.

Selling pressure was weakened after the sharp decline of the VN-Index from the 1,200-point peak achieved in early April, which had made many stocks attractive in value terms, Vũ Minh Đức, head of Bản Việt Securities Company’s research and analysis department, told tinnhanhchungkhoan.vn.

“However, the purchasing power was modest as investors were still cautious, tracking every movement of the world stocks affected by various factors such as US-China trade tension or the Fed raising interest rates,” Đức said.

“It is very difficult for the market to make positive changes next week, but the downwards trend may be ceased in the next two weeks when a lot of international holidays are approaching like Christmas and the New Year,” said Phan Dũng Khánh, Investment Director of Maybank Kim Eng Securities.

Foreign investors would maintain their net selling on the stock market but this move might be reduced during the holiday season.

However, the positive trend is unlikely to return back in the short term but the downtrend will be slackened when net selling activities decrease, Khánh said.

“It is a principal that if interest rates fall, stocks rise and vice versa,” Dương Văn Chung, head of the investment division at Military Bank Securities Corp (MBS), said.

In 2019, the Fed was expected to raise interest rates two more times, which means that the market would still be in a downward trend, Chung said.

According to Ngô Thế Hiển, deputy head of analysis at Sài Gòn-Hà Nội Securities Company, the market usually struggles and shows unclear signs towards the end of the year.

Individual and institutional investors don’t often disburse much money at the end of the year but will focus on protecting their investment achievements made during the year, which leads to low trading liquidity.

“As we have mentioned before, the VN-Index is likely to move in the range of 890-960 points in December and currently is at 912 points. The global stock market, especially the US stock market, is experiencing quite negative developments in recent sessions and this also has a negative impact on Vietnamese stocks,” Hiển said.

Therefore, in the last week of 2018, the market will still be around the 900-930 point range. — VNS