Vietnam Insight

Awaiting the July jobs report. US stock futures were little changed on Friday as investors awaited the closely watched July jobs report for fresh signals on labor market conditions and the potential path of Federal Reserve monetary policy. In corporate news, Airbnb jumped more than 8% in extended trading after reporting stronger-than-expected revenue and earnings, while Cloudflare soared 16% on an upbeat full-year and current-quarter outlook. Meanwhile, DraftKings slipped 3% after falling short of revenue estimates. During Thursday’s regular session, the Dow declined 0.85%, the S&P 500 eased 0.18%, and the Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.06%. Eight of the 11 S&P sectors ended in negative territory, with industrials, real estate, and materials posting the steepest losses. The pullback came as a rebound in oil prices reignited concerns that the Fed could raise interest rates as soon as next month.

Range-Bound Trading with Resistance at 1,800. The VN-Index closed the session at 1,764.78 points (down 11.68 points, or 0.66%), with trading volume falling below the 20-day average. During the session, 107 stocks advanced while 211 declined. Stocks exerting a positive influence on the index included DMX, VHM, and DGC, whereas VIC, CTG, and MBB weighed on the index. Foreign investors were net sellers to the tune of nearly VND121 billion; they focused their buying on VIC, CTG, and HPG, while net selling VHM, VPB, and PNJ.

Trading Strategy: Investors may take advantage of market pullbacks to gradually accumulate positions while maintaining a prudent cash allocation to manage risk and preserve flexibility to increase exposure once a market recovery is confirmed. Investors should avoid using margin to bottom-fish, as the market may still be in the process of forming a second bottom. In addition, technical rebound sessions provide an opportunity to rebalance portfolios by reducing exposure to companies whose business performance has fallen short of expectations.

Current portfolio: LPB, PAN, MBB, POW; Watchlist: HPG, REE, NVL

High-risk stocks to avoid: Real estate (PDR, KDH, NLG), HDG and PNJ