The Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange in HCM City. Việt Nam's benchmark VN-Index inched up a total of 0.18 per cent last week. — Photo hsx.com

HÀ NỘI — Strong domestic purchasing is expected to keep Vietnamese shares upbeat this week, securities firms have forecast.

However, international news may hinder market momentum and not all stocks will enjoy gains as attention will be divided on earnings prospects, they said.

Việt Nam’s benchmark VN-Index on the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) ended last week at 909.91 points, up only 0.18 per cent from the previous week.

The local market had enjoyed good growth in the first four trading days of the week to near 915 points before collapsing on Friday.

Both international and local markets were hurt on Friday by the news that US President Donald Trump had tested positive for coronavirus.

The VN-Index on Friday morning gained as much as 0.28 per cent but in the early stages of the afternoon, it reversed and fell as much as 1.79 per cent.

Domestic purchasing power quickly boosted the market to end the week at 909.91 points as stocks that had been sold by panicked investors became highly attractive for bargain hunters.

Despite the sell-off, the VN-Index still made a weekly gain with improved liquidity, and that proved market demand at the moment was very strong, Sài Gòn-Hà Nội Securities (SHS) said in its weekly report.

It was no surprise the market wobbled during the last session of the week, VietDragon Securities Co (VDSC) said in a note.

“The cash flow waiting for strong good stocks” was the market's driving force on Friday and “this shows the market trend is still positive as huge cash flow is waiting to trigger into the market,” VDSC said.

Large-cap stocks still had the biggest influence on the market. Dairy producer Vinamilk (VNM), multisectoral firm Vingroup (VIC) and steel company Hòa Phát (HPG) were the three leading large-caps last week.

VNM gained a total of 3 per cent last week, VIC rose a total of 1.3 per cent and HPG jumped a total of 3.7 per cent.

Bank stocks remained positive such as Vietinbank (CTG), Techcombank (TCB), VPBank (VPB) and Sacombank (STB).

“The VN-Index has the chance to keep increasing and touch the 925-point level,” SHS forecast.

“It was good that the market was able to absorb the huge amount of stocks dumped by panicked investors,” MB Securities Co (MBS) said in its weekly note.

“Last week was the market’s third straight gaining week and also its eighth rising weeks out of the last nine,” the company added.

“It is quite understandable if the market corrects in the coming days following its recent gain,” MBS said.

The biggest risk now was the volatility of international markets, the company said.

Global investors this week will be impacted by new developments in the US presidential election, the US president’s physical condition and the upcoming Federal Reserve meeting.

“The market’s correction pressure is present with negative impacts from the global markets,” Bao Viet Securities Co (BVSC) said.

The VN-Index may swing between the support zone of 895-900 points and the resistance zone of 920 points in the coming days, the company forecast.

“If the support zone of 895-900 points is broken, the index may enter a correction and retest lower supports in the short term.”

Local stocks would be divided into different directions on third-quarter earnings expectations, BVSC said.

Stronger selling would appear when the index approached the 920-point level, SHS said.

“But if the local market stays comparatively healthy enough from the international markets as it has in the last four weeks, it would be fine,” MBS forecast. — VNS