VN-Index may reach record high of 1,700 by end-2024: Finish fund PYN Elite

The VN-Index, the main gauge of Vietnam’s main bourse the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, is likely to hit 1,700 points, an all-time high, by the end of this year, according to Finland-based PYN Elite Fund.

Vietnam's stock market index has been moving upwards in a slow pendulum movement since the bottom of autumn 2022, the fund said in a recent note.

The projection is much higher than estimates by Vietnamese brokers, which range from 1,400-1,500 points.

The VN-Index closed Tuesday at 1,281.73 and was trading at 1,279.24 at 11 a.m. (Hanoi time) on Wednesday. PYN Elite said the index may increase a further 33% this year, after gaining 13.2% so far this year.

The fund expects “clearly better” results from listed companies this year and predicts that the country's interest rate will remain moderate. Towards the year-end, it assumes that the extremely strong U.S. dollar will begin to weaken, leading to a stronger Vietnamese dong and a positive impact on stock market sentiment.

Other drivers for the local stock market will be the introduction of the new KRX trading system and the abandonment of the trading pre-funding rule.

For its part, PYN Elite performed poorly in April, with an 8.24% decline in monthly returns. The VN-Index ended last month with a 5.8% month-on-month decrease.

The VND’s depreciation of 2.1% against the U.S. dollar in April initially fueled rate hike fears, compounded by “whispers of political reshuffling”, the fund said. Yet, the depreciation was in line with regional currencies, and reflective of the USD’s recent rally.

PYN Elite is among the largest foreign-run funds in Vietnam’s stock market. At the end of April, it had EUR742 million ($805 million) worth of assets under management.

Its top holdings include Sacombank, HDBank, VietinBank, ACV, MBBank, TPBank, DNSE, SHS, Vinh Hoan, and FPT.