Positive Q2 corporate earnings to drive Vietnam stock market: expert

Expected positive corporate earnings in the second quarter could provide support and push Vietnam’s stock market up, said Dinh Quang Hinh, head of macro and market strategy at Hanoi-based securities firm VNDirect.

Over the last week (June 17-21), the VN-Index, which represents the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, closed 2.11 points higher, or 0.16%, to reach 1,282.02. On the Hanoi bourse, the HNX-Index ended up 0.39 points, or 0.16%, to hit 244.36.

The average transaction value of the Vietnamese stock market reached VND26.4 trillion ($1.03 billion) per session during the week. Of the amount, order matching transactions averaged VND22.41 trillion ($880.54 million) a day, down 11% on a weekly basis and 5.9% lower than the average of the last five weeks.

During the five sessions, foreign investors net sold VND4.9 trillion ($192.5 million). FPT of FPT Corporation was the most net sold, with a value of VND1.12 trillion ($44.27 million), topping the list of the tickers most net unloaded by overseas investors for three consecutive weeks. Since early June, foreign investors have net sold over VND3.2 trillion ($125.71 million) worth of FPT shares.

Commenting on last week's developments, Hinh told The Investor that the market was in a tug of war as investors were cautious about derivatives maturing and portfolio reshuffles of ETFs.

This week, all eyes will be on important macroeconomic data, including the U.S. Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) – the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, and Vietnam’s Q2 GDP and June consumer price index (CPI).

In addition, Q2 corporate results, which are expected to be positive, may also drive the market forward, Hinh noted, suggesting investors pay attention to the stocks in banking, industry, and export corporations.

He anticipated the VN-Index to consolidate at around 1,280 points before reconquering the resistence threshold of 1,300 at the start of Q3.