Vietnam Insight

Waiting for the upcoming speech of the Fed Chair at the Jackson Hole symposium. US stock futures were mixed on Wednesday as investors looked ahead to earnings from major retailers and the release of the Federal Reserve’s July meeting minutes. Dow and S&P 500 futures were little changed, while Nasdaq 100 futures edged lower as pressure on technology stocks persisted. Markets are awaiting results from Lowe’s, Target, and TJX Companies. The Fed minutes will also draw close scrutiny, as the July meeting marked the first time since 1993 that two officials dissented from the policy decision. Attention will then turn to Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s upcoming remarks at the Jackson Hole symposium. On Tuesday, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite slid 0.59% and 1.46%, respectively, amid a broad selloff in tech shares during a risk-off session. Nvidia fell 3.5%, AMD lost 5.4%, and Palantir Technologies dropped 9.4%. In contrast, the Dow managed a slight 0.02% gain, supported by a post-earnings rally in Home Depot.

Maintain the uptrend. The VNINDEX closed at 1,654.2 (+17.83 points, +1.09%) with liquidity maintained. The market recorded 199 gainers and 130 decliners. The stocks contributing most to the market’s uptrend were VPB and TCB, while VCB and MWG weighed on the index. Foreign investors recorded a net sell of about VND 1,490 billion, mainly focused on MWG and KDH.

Trading Strategy: Prioritize a holding strategy and be ready to sell once targets are met. If the market corrects to around 1,500–1,570 points, investors may consider partial disbursement into stocks with solid earnings results and those benefiting from expectations of an upgrade in market classification. In the case that institutional inflows do not return at the 1,500–1,570 range, investors can reduce equity exposure to manage risks. We still expect the industrial real estate and retail sectors to offer good buying opportunities, as their prices have not risen too much compared to the broader market, and we anticipate that a correction will open up chances to reaccumulate securities stocks.