Vietnam Insight

The market is unstable and risky. US stock futures edged lower on Friday as concerns over bad loans at regional banks pressured sentiment. On Thursday, the Dow fell 0.65%, the S&P 500 dropped 0.63%, and the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.47%. Ten of the 11 S&P sectors finished lower, with financials leading the declines. The weakness followed disclosures from Zions Bancorporation and Western Alliance about troubled loans, heightening fears of broader credit market stress. Investors now await earnings from other regional lenders, including Comerica and Fifth Third. Meanwhile, markets remained unsettled by the prolonged US-China trade war and the ongoing US government shutdown. Wall Street has experienced sharp swings this week after last Friday’s selloff triggered by President Donald Trump’s renewed tariff threats on China, with the S&P 500 up as much as 2.6% before surrendering more than half those gains.

Uptrend. VNINDEX closed at $1,766.85$ ($+8.95$ points, $+0.51\%$) with liquidity unchanged at the $20$-session average. The market had $180$ gainers and $129$ losers. The strongest contributors to the market's rally were VIC, MSN, VJC; contributing to the market's decline were VHM, CTG, and VPB. Foreign investors reversed their position to net buy 527 billion VND.

Trading Strategy:  Prioritize a holding strategy and limit new purchases during breakouts. In a positive scenario, if the VN-Index successfully tests and holds the 1,700 level, investors can consider increasing exposure during subsequent pullbacks to ride the upcoming uptrend. If the market retreats to around the 1,600 zone, clearer buying opportunities will emerge — investors may focus allocations on stocks with strong catalysts such as re-rating benefits, robust earnings growth, or valuations that remain lower than the broader market.