Inside a bag factory of An Phat Bioplastics JSC (AAA). AAA increased 9.9 per cent last week. — Photo courtesy of the company

Market analysts and experts forecast the market will advance this week but will encounter correcting pressure when the VN-Index enters the strong resistance zone of 1,180-1,200 points.

The benchmark VN-Index on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange was down 0.01 per cent to close Friday at 1,181.56 points.

The index had gained 1.1 per cent last week.

More than 654 million shares were traded on the southern exchange during each session last week, worth VND15.7 trillion (US$683 million).

According to BOS Securities Corporation, the technical indicators give mixed signals about the trend of the market.

“The market will likely face an accumulation span in the range of 1,180-1,190 points in the coming sessions, before confirming the short-term trend,” it said.

“Investors should prioritise holding the current portfolio and maintain an observant status in the next sessions," said BOS.

“VN-Index is still in the exploration zone of 1,150-1,200 points, so the process of testing supply-demand will continuously occur,” said Viet Dragon Securities Co.

“However, the VN-Index ended in a favourable position and created a basis to test the old peak at 1,200 points.

“Therefore, investors can hold portfolios and short-term buying opportunities still exist in stocks with good technical signals after an accumulation period,” Viet Dragon Securities Co. said.

Tran Xuan Bach, a stock analyst at Bao Viet Securities Co (BVSC), said the market was expected to see corrective movements in the first sessions of this week and rebound towards the end of the week.

“VN-Index continues to fluctuate in the area limited by the upper bound of 1,185-1,200 points and the lower bound of 1,150-1,155 points,” he said.

“The peak zone of 1,185-1,200 points is still a strong resistance level for the index in terms of sentimental and technical factors.

“Therefore, we believe that the market shall encounter correcting pressure when approaching this zone.

“Also, March futures contracts will expire next week, and ETFs will restructure their portfolios in the last two sessions of the week. Large-cap stocks may suffer strong fluctuations, thereby indirectly affecting the overall movement of the market.

“Investors should maintain the stock exposure at 50 per cent. After buying at the support zone of 1,150-1,155 points, investors can consider lowering stock proportion when the market approaches the strong resistance zone at 1,185-1,200 points,” Bach said.

Saigon-Hanoi Securities Joint Stock Company (SHS) said that the market had continuously fluctuated in a narrow range for three of the past consecutive weeks with a support zone of 1,150 - 1,155 and a resistance zone of 1,185 - 1,190 points.

Liquidity had gradually increased back above the average level, short-term cash flow was continuously searching for short-term opportunities, it said.

“The general market is expected to maintain an accumulation trend and will face corrections while waiting for Q1 business results with the expectation that the market will have a boom, surpassing the peak of 1,200 points in the near future," it said.

“From a technical point of view, the mid-term trend of the market continues to be positive with the VN-Index reaching 1,250 points around April 2021,” it said.

Stocks of the construction materials industry rose the most last week with notable gainers of An Phat Bioplastics JSC (AAA), increasing 9.9 per cent, Nam Kim Group (NKG) rising 7.7 per cent, Dong Hai Joint Stock Company of Bentre (DHC) gaining 5.3 per cent, Vietnam Rubber Group JSC (GVR) up 5.1 per cent and Duc Giang Chemical Group JSC (DGC) rising 2 per cent.

Pharmaceutical and medical stocks also outperformed by with Central Phamaceutical Joint Stock Company No3 (DP3) up 22.5 per cent, Imexpharm Corporation (IMP) rising 9.1 per cent, Lam Dong Pharmaceutical JSC (LDP) gaining 4.1 per cent, Hau Giang Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company (DHG) climbing 2.5 per cent and Trafaco (TRA) up 2.2 per cent.

The banking group also gained strongly including VPBank (VPB) up 6.5 per cent, Sacombank (STB) increasing 2.7 per cent, Techcombank (TCB) and Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BID) both rising 2.2 per cent and Asia Commercial Bank (ACB) up 1.6 per cent.

On the other side, the oil and gas group dropped the most with PetroVietnam Drilling & Well Service Corporation (PVD) decreasing 5.2 per cent, PetroVietnam Technical Services Corporation (PVS) dropping 2.9 per cent and PetroVietnam Gas JSC (GAS) losing 1.5 per cent.

On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index rallied 0.14 per cent to end Friday at 273.91 points.

It had climbed 5.4 per cent last week.

An average of 153 million shares were traded on the northern exchange during each session last week, worth VND2.3 trillion. — VNS