Illustrative photo (Source: motthegioi.vn)Hanoi (VNA) - Shares may continuerising this week as investor confidence increases at the beginning of the lunaryear, analysts say.
Banking stocks are expected to take the leadwith investors expecting improvements in the sector, they add.
The benchmark VN Index on the HCM StockExchange on February 3 fell 0.4 percent to end last week at 700.35points, after rallying 3 percent in the previous five sessions to reach anine-year high of 703.18 points on the previous day.
At the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX Index ralliedfor a fourth day, increasing 0.5 percent to end at 85.03 points. The northernmarket index has moved up 2.4 percent in the last four sessions.
Investor sentiment is often high at thebeginning of the lunar year, and this will be an important factor that couldlift the market, as seen in the five consecutive days ending on February 3.
“Positive investor sentiment at the beginning ofthe lunar year will help increase investment in the stock market, especiallywhen the resistance range of 690-700 points has been surpassed for the firsttime since September 2016,” said Phan Dung Khanh, head of the investmentconsultancy at Maybank Kim Eng Securities Co Ltd.
Before the Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday,the VN Index had crossed the 690 point level, and the nine-year high wasreached after the market returned from a one-week break.
This caused both regret and excitement amonginvestors because they had pulled out of the stock market during the pre-Tet holidayperiod, missing the opportunity to participate in the market’s improvement, Khanhsaid.
The stock market will also be lifted by investorexpectations of Government policies to support the economy and businesses,along with the release of companies’ earnings reports, and by large-cap groupsthat are preparing to be traded on the stock market, he added.
The VN Index corrected itself on February 3 aftera five-day rally.
According to Vu Minh Duc, head of individualcustomer analysis at the Viet Capital Securities Company, thecorrection on February 3 was a must-decline session so that the VN Indexcan continue increasing in the near future.
More specifically, the benchmark index mightdecline during some of the first trading days this week to test the supportrange of 695-700 points, then increase to the middle-term resistance level of740-750 points within months, he said.
Banks will lead the market in the coming week,and this year, as investors are counting on the restructuring plan for theentire banking system, as well as on the possibility of a policy that allowsbanks to lift the bar for foreign investment this year, as Prime Minister NguyenXuan Phuc told Bloomberg TV in January, Duc said.
Bank stocks, such as Vietcombank (VCB), BIDV(BID) and Vietinbank (CTG), weigh heavily on the market, as do other blue chipfirms including dairy producer Vinamilk (VNM) and brewer Sabeco (SAB). Whilethe price-to-earnings ratios of the large-cap bank stocks are lower than thatof the latter, it also means the potential for bank stocks to grow is quitehigh, Duc said.
Investors may also take earnings reports oflisted companies into account this week, according to Nguyen Ngoc Lan, head ofthe broker division at Agribank Securities Company.
Companies that saw yearly increases in theirearnings for 2016 include dairy producer Vinamilk, steelmaker Hoa Phat Group(HPG), real estate group FLC (FLC) and Faros Construction Corp (ROS).-VNA
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