VN-Index has not yet escaped the pressure of correction.

The sluggish trading market, with divergence across most sectors, decreased liquidity, and continued selling pressure from foreign investors, suggests that the VN-Index is unlikely to break through.

At the close of trading on April 20th, the VN-Index edged up 0.27 points, or 0.03%, to 1,049.25 points. Across the entire exchange, 179 stocks rose, 176 fell, and 72 remained unchanged.

The HNX-Index rose 0.76 points, or 0.37%, to 206.61 points. Across the entire exchange, there were 94 gainers, 82 losers, and 53 stocks unchanged. The UPCoM-Index fell 0.26 points to 77.85 points. The VN30 basket alone recorded 13 declining stocks.

Liquidity decreased significantly. The total value of matched orders in the session reached VND 8,112 billion, down 26% compared to the previous session. Specifically, the value of matched orders on the HoSE exchange also decreased by 31% to VND 6,626 billion. Within the VN30 group, market liquidity reached VND 2,403 billion.

Investment analysis

Phu Hung Securities: From a technical perspective, the VN-Index saw a slight increase. Trading volume decreased and remained below the 10- and 20-day moving averages, implying that investors are quite cautious.

The index is trending downwards below the MA20, with the MA5 crossing below the MA20, indicating that the index is undergoing a correction within a sideways channel, with the target being the support zone around the lower channel, equivalent to the 1,000 – 1,020 point range (March low).

Overall, the market has not yet escaped short-term correction pressure after the slight increase on April 20th. Therefore, investors should maintain a safe proportion of stocks to limit risks from unpredictable market developments.

Agriseco Securities: Agriseco Research believes that the trend of net selling will gradually increase before the holiday season, and the projected divergence in Q1/2023 business results has led investors to maintain a cautious trading stance since the beginning of this week.

With the VN-Index approaching the lower boundary of the Bollinger Bands, a sideways trend, testing the 1,040 point level, may occur in the coming sessions.

Nevertheless, the analysis team maintains the view that the index is unlikely to experience a significant decline, having already absorbed considerable negative information from the previous period. Investors can continue to hold their recommended portfolios and observe, waiting for clearer signals from the market.

Yuanta Securities: Analysts believe the VN-Index may continue to trade sideways and could face downward pressure at the beginning of the session. Currently, capital flows are still mainly concentrated in mid-cap and small-cap stocks. Short-term sentiment indicators have risen slightly, but investors remain pessimistic about the current trend.

The short-term trend of the overall market remains neutral. Therefore, Yuanta recommends that short-term investors maintain their current stock holdings after balancing them in recent trading sessions. Simultaneously, investors can temporarily stop selling and observe the market in the coming sessions.

Stock market news brief

According to a World Bank report, Vietnam's economic growth is projected to slow to 6.3% in 2023. This is due to a slowdown in the service sector, and rising prices and interest rates affecting investors and households. Growth is expected to increase to 6.5% in 2024 as Vietnam's key export markets such as the United States and China recover.

- In its latest report on Vietnam's economic outlook, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) noted that due to the global recession, continued tightening monetary policy, and the spillover effects of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the global recession, coupled with continued tightening monetary policy and the ripple effects of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, are contributing factors. However, ADB experts believe that China's reopening will help balance these adverse factors, and the Vietnamese economy is projected to grow by 6.5% in 2023.

This forecast is lower than the 6.7% forecast that ADB made in its previous report in September 2022. Accordingly, ADB assesses that public investment will be the main driver of economic recovery and growth in 2023.

- Major Wall Street indices continued to fluctuate within a narrow range as first-quarter 2023 corporate earnings reports were released. The Dow Jones fell 0.2%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite fluctuated by less than 0.05% in the previous trading session .

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