Vietnam Insight

Energy flows through the strait of hormuz recover, oil prices remain near four-month lows. US stock futures advanced on Monday as investors returned from a holiday-extended weekend, with Wall Street building on a strong week that lifted the Dow Jones to fresh record highs. Last week, the Dow rallied nearly 2%, bringing it within reach of the 53,000 mark, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.8% and 2.1%, respectively. The gains came despite weakness in semiconductor stocks, which had fueled much of this year’s market rally, as investors rotated into other sectors. Healthcare, financials and industrials were among the biggest beneficiaries, with all three ending the week at fresh record highs. Investors now await the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s June policy meeting for further insight into the outlook for interest rates. Markets continue to price in multiple Fed rate hikes this year, even as easing inflation concerns are supported by the normalization of oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz.

Accumulating ahead of a breakout. VN-Index closed at 1,862.08, down 4.27 points (-0.23%), with trading volume broadly in line with the 20-day average. The market recorded 107 advancers and 202 decliners. VHM, HVN, and MCH were the largest positive contributors to the index, while GAS, LPB, and PNJ weighed the most on market performance. Foreign investors posted a net sell of VND 804 billion, with the largest net outflows concentrated in TCB, MSN, and VIC.

Trading Strategy: Investors may focus on stocks with sideways consolidation patterns and strong earnings growth rather than concentrating solely on VN-Index fluctuations for medium-term positioning. In the short term, opportunities may emerge in heavily sold off stocks showing signs of recovery, such as insurance, technology, and real estate sectors. Investors should limit the use of margin when the trend is not clearly defined during this period.

Current portfolio: MBB; CTD

Watchlist: HPG, KDH, SSI, Real estate stocks (PDR, NLG, DXG)