Vietnam Insight

Easing tensions. US stock futures advanced on Monday as investors geared up for a pivotal week featuring an expected Federal Reserve interest rate cut, major tech earnings, and a high-stakes meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Those moves came after the major averages reached new record highs last week, with the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite gaining between 1.92% to 2.31%. Markets have nearly fully priced in a quarter-point rate reduction after Friday’s cooler-than-expected inflation data. Traders also awaited earnings from leading tech firms including Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, and Microsoft. On the trade front, the Trump-Xi meeting in South Korea on Thursday is seen as a potential turning point following productive weekend talks, with US and Chinese negotiators reportedly resolving several contentious issues, fueling optimism that the two largest economies could avert a deeper trade conflict.

Technical rebound – consolidation phase. VNINDEX closed at 1,683.18 (-3.88 points, -0.23%) with liquidity lower than the 20-session average. The market had 117 gaining codes and 190 declining codes. The stock groups contributing most to the market's gain were VIC, FPT, VNM; contributing to the market's decline were TCB, MBB, and VPB. Foreign investors had strong net selling of 1,767 billion VND.

Trading Strategy: Short-term investors should refrain from making new purchases for now and wait for the market to form a price base. If the market successfully retests the 1,600-point level, investors may consider allocating capital for medium- to long-term positions, focusing on stocks with strong catalysts — such as those benefiting from market reclassification, robust earnings growth, or valuations that remain lower than the broader market