Vietnam Insight

Tensions escalate. US stock futures slipped on Wednesday as investors braced for the Federal Reserve’s latest monetary policy decision. While the central bank is widely expected to hold interest rates steady, attention will center on its forward guidance amid persistent tariff uncertainty and rising geopolitical tensions. Market participants will also be watching for new US housing data and weekly jobless claims, due ahead of Thursday’s market holiday. On Tuesday, all three major indexes closed lower: the Dow Jones dropped 0.7%, the S&P 500 fell 0.84%, and the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.91%. Ten of the 11 S&P 500 sectors declined, with energy the sole gainer, buoyed by a spike in oil prices. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump escalated tensions with Iran, calling for its “unconditional surrender” and threatening a potential strike against Supreme Leader Khamenei in a series of posts on Truth Social.

Resistance around the recent peak. VNINDEX closed at 1,347.69, up 9.58 points (+0.72%), with liquidity reaching its 20-day average. There were 177 advancing stocks and 133 declining stocks on the market. Banking and real estate sectors made strong positive contributions to the market's performance.The stocks contributing most significantly to the market's gain were VHM, VIC, and VCB, while PLX, BSR, and GEE contributed to the decline. Foreign investors were net buyers of 571 billion VND, primarily concentrating their purchases on FPT and HPG 

Trading Strategy: Investors are temporarily holding off on buying stocks that have already seen strong gains, as capital may shift toward stocks trading below their 200-day or 50-day moving averages. For new buying positions, priority can be given to real estate and banking stocks that are trading at low levels with a consolidation base; however, the allocation should remain modest