Shares posted gains on the first trading day of the week thanks to supportive forecasts as the market is set to enter the annual general meeting (AGM) season.
On the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, the VN-Index inched up 0.24 per cent to close at 1,027.18 points.
Market breadth was positive with 222 rising stocks and 155 losing ones.
Nearly 422 million shares worth VND6.8 trillion (US$287.2 million) were traded on HCM City’s bourse.
BIDV Securities Co (BSC) has built two possible scenarios for the stock market in March. In the first, a gradual recovery is recorded in production and business activities after the slowdown at the beginning of this year, disbursement of public investment accelerated, creating a spillover effect.
The interest rate level shows signs of gradually decreasing to remove difficulties for production, consumption and investment activities. Foreign investors gradually reduce their net withdrawal and return to net buying in the second half of March. All these will help VN-Index create a foundation and return to the accumulation area above 1,050 points.
According to BSC, the market entered the new AGM season, and having more supportive information may also help push up VN-Index.
In a worse scenario, if the US Fed maintains its view of raising interest rates stronger than the market's forecast to control inflation, negative fluctuations from the international market will lead to a net withdrawal of foreign capital, putting pressure on macro stability. As a result, the VN-Index may return to test the range of 980 – 1,000 points, BSC said.
“VN-Index has a chance to enter a technical recovery after closing above the resistance zone of 1,028-1,033 points. If successfully testing this support zone, the index will test the resistance zone of 1,065-1,075 points,” said Bao Viet Securities Co.
Adventurous investors can consider opening short trading positions in steel, securities, and public investment stocks when VN-Index tests the support zone of 1,028-1,033 points, the company said.
The VN-30 Index, tracking the 30 biggest stocks on HoSE, rose 0.09 per cent to close at 1,014.26 points.
In the VN-30 basket, the biggest gainers included the Vietnam Rubber Group (GVR), Hoa Phat Group (HPG), SSI Securities Inc (SSI), HD Bank (HDB), Mobile World Group (MWG) and Vinhomes (VHM).
Notably, two real estate companies soared 7 per cent, namely Novaland (NVL) and Phat Dat Real Estate (PDR).
Energy stocks also performed positively with gainers such as PetroVietnam Technical Services Corporation (PVS), PetroVietnam Drilling and Well Services Corporation (PVD), and Drilling Mud Joint Stock Corporation (PVC).
On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index rose 0.82 per cent to end at 206.56 points. — VNS