Vietnam Insight

The Fed is expected to keep its policy interest rate unchanged. US stock futures moved modestly higher on Wednesday as investors turned their focus to a fresh batch of big tech earnings and the upcoming Federal Reserve policy announcement. Results due later in the day from Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms, and Microsoft are expected to offer further clarity on the returns from their heavy artificial intelligence spending. In extended trading, shares of Starbucks, NXP Semiconductors, and Seagate Technology jumped on strong quarterly results, while Robinhood slid more than 9% after reporting weaker-than-expected Q1 earnings. During Tuesday’s regular session, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite fell 0.49% and 0.9%, respectively, while the Dow dipped 0.05%. Technology stocks led the declines following reports that OpenAI recently fell short of its own revenue and user growth targets. Meanwhile, the Fed is widely anticipated to keep its policy rate unchanged, in what is likely to be Chair Jerome Powell’s final meeting before his term concludes in May.

Testing the upper bound of the sideways range. The VN-Index closed the trading session at 1,875.84 points (+22.55 points, +1.22%), with trading volume below the 20-session average. There were 107 gainers and 210 decliners. Stocks that contributed positively to the index included VIC, VHM, and STB, while GAS, BSR, and VCB weighed on the market. Foreign investors recorded a net sell of VND 528 billion, mainly concentrated in FPT and VHM.

Trading Strategy: Investors may consider increasing equity exposure compared to last week, prioritizing stocks that are still at relatively low levels and have strong Q1 earnings growth prospects. Focus areas include banks with high credit growth room and positive narratives, undervalued real estate, and steel.