Analysts from securities companies forecast that the VN-Index will continue to fluctuate in the accumulation area from 1,380-1,400 this week, accompanied by an uptrend and a sharper divergence in the large-cap group.

The market benchmark VN-Index on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) gained 0.32 per cent, to finish Friday at 1,389.24 points.

It recorded a weekly loss of 0.25 per cent last week.

An average of 757 million shares was traded on the southern exchange during each session last week, worth VND22 trillion (US$968 million).

According to Vietcombank Securities Limited Company (VCBS), VN-Index mainly traded in a narrow range last week. Strong profit-taking pressure around 1,400 points made the VN-Index move sideways around 1,390 points in the first three days of the week without recording any significant increase or decrease.

Although short-term profit-taking pressure once again returned in the second half of the session on Thursday, the index was still not pushed back below 1,380 points. On Friday it once again returned to struggling trend around 1,390 points. However, the index recorded the second week in a row ending above 1,370 points, showing that investors are being quite optimistic about the current market, VCBS said.

Cash flow still seemed to be avoiding large-cap stocks, which have recorded outstanding gains compared to the general index in the first half of this year, it said.

VCBS expects that VN-Index will fluctuate and accumulate in the range of 1,380-1,400 points in the next few weeks, accompanied by an uptrend and a sharper divergence in the large-cap group.

Investors can look for short-term profit opportunities in the real estate and securities groups. Meanwhile, long-term investors can still take advantage of this "volatile" period to accumulate more target stocks, but should limit margin trading, it said.

According to Saigon-Hanoi Securities Co (SHS), the market adjusted slightly last week with the VN-Index continuously struggling around the psychological threshold of 1,400 points.

“The liquidity increased slightly and continued to be higher than the recent 20-week average, showing that selling pressure around 1,400 points was relatively strong, causing the market to retreat shortly after,” it said.

Foreign investors also had a strong net selling week with more than VND3.5 trillion on the two exchanges, causing correcting pressure on the market.

However, with the VN-Index ending above the support area of 1,375-1,380 points, it is likely that VN-Index will continue towards the psychological level of 1,400 points in this week.

In the negative scenario, if the selling pressure increases, the VN-Index is likely to need to retest the nearest support zone in the range of 1,375-1,380 points, it said.

Banking stocks dropped the most last week with losers such as Vietinbank (CTG) falling 3.3 per cent, Vietcombank (VCB) declining 2.3 per cent, Asia Commercial Bank (ACB) dropping 1.9 per cent, Military Bank (MBB) losing 1.8 per cent, VPBank (VPB) down 0.8 per cent, Techcombank (TCB) falling 0.6 per cent and Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BID) decreasing 0.5 per cent. — VNS