Vietnam Insight

Highlights:

As of June 26, 2026, total outstanding credit in the banking system exceeded VND 19.9 quadrillion, up 7.4% YTD and 18.1% YoY.

The U.S. labor market continued to cool in June, with job creation coming in well below expectations, easing concerns that the Fed may need to raise interest rates sooner to contain inflation.

Vietnam's Manufacturing PMI rose to 51.8, signaling solid expansion and a positive outlook for the second half of the year.

Assessment: Market breadth improved modestly last week, supported by gains in the banking sector. While the overall signal remains inconclusive, investor sentiment has shown signs of improvement, particularly toward the three banks with relatively high remaining credit growth quotas—MBB, VPB, and HDB.that billionaire Pham Nhat Vuong had acquired a nearly 5% stake in LPBank.

Technical View: The VN-Index closed the week at 1,862 (-9.8 points, -0.53%) on subdued trading volume. The index traded within a narrow 30-point range, indicating a lack of strong conviction from both buyers and sellers. Nevertheless, market breadth improved slightly as liquidity picked up in several sectors, including banks, while the real estate sector experienced declines in both trading value and share prices. Overall, the market structure remains largely unchanged from the previous week, with a sideways trend continuing to dominate.

Investment Ideas: Investors may consider accumulating stocks that continue to trade sideways or have experienced only modest pullbacks while maintaining solid earnings growth, with a medium-term investment horizon. We do not recommend increasing short-term trading exposure or chasing rallies, as weak market breadth could make recent gains less sustainable. We continue to favor undervalued banking stocks that are supported by multiple positive policy catalysts.