Vietnam Insight

Bond yields show signs of easing. US stock futures were little changed on Thursday after the major averages advanced in the previous session, snapping a three-day losing streak. In regular trading on Wednesday, the Dow rose 0.56%, the S&P 500 gained 0.46% and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.45%. Ten of the 11 S&P sectors finished higher, led by materials, communication services and health care. The gains came as the recent rally in oil prices and bond yields that had pressured equities throughout the week showed signs of easing. In corporate news, Broadcom fell about 1% after issuing a lower-than-expected revenue forecast for Q4, while Hewlett Packard Enterprise tumbled more than 5% despite beating earnings and revenue estimates for Q3. In contrast, Snowflake soared 23% after the software company smashed estimates amid growing adoption of its AI products. Investors now look ahead to more earnings reports on Thursday from Ciena, Zscaler and DocuSign, among others.

Trading sideways within a wide range, with 1,900 as key resistance. The VN-Index ended the trading session at 1,832.12 points, up 0.56 points (+0.03%), with trading volume below the 20-session average. There were 141 advancers and 162 decliners during the session. SSB, STB, and VPB were the top positive contributors to the index, while TCB, VHM, and GVR weighed on the market. Foreign investors were net buyers of VND 334 billion, with buying mainly concentrated in TCB and FPT.

Trading Strategy: Investors should remain patient and wait for market pullbacks or short-term volatility on relatively low trading liquidity to identify more attractive entry points. The preferred strategy is to focus on stocks that have yet to rally significantly relative to the broader market, but have solid business fundamentals, positive growth prospects, and reasonable valuations. This approach can help mitigate the risk of chasing stocks that have already experienced sharp rallies. Meanwhile, investors should avoid excessive optimism when the market moves up strongly and refrain from increasing their exposure too aggressively at elevated price levels. Maintaining an appropriate cash position will provide greater flexibility to deploy capital during market corrections while allowing investors to better manage downside risks.

Current portfolio: MBB, POW, NVL; Watchlist: HPG, REE, BVH, GAS and securities stock (HCM, SSI, VCI…)

High-risk stocks to avoid: HDG