Vietnam’s benchmark VN-Index could breach the 1,000 point mark in the last quarter of the year after the Q3 corporate earnings season and with investors shifting attention towards firms with hopes for full-year earnings growth.

PetroVietnam Gas engineers at a facility (Photo: vietnamfinance.vn) 

The benchmark VN-Index on the Ho Chí Minh Stock Exchange gained 0.72 percent to close last week at 997.84 points.

 Expectations for listed companies’ third-quarter earnings would support the domestic stock market in the short term, BIDV Securities Corporation (BSC) said in its weekly report.

 Investors have begun hunting for stocks in sectors that are expected to produce positive earnings reports for the third quarter of the year.

 Banks and securities firms were also attractive sectors to foreign investors.

 Another factor that is expected to cushion the stock market is the US-China trade talks, which opens on October 10.

 In the last few weeks, both China and the US have signalled their willingness to cool down the trade war by imposing measures to boost bilateral trade.

 This comes as good news amid worries about a global economic recession.

 There was also other good news that could provide a short term boost for the market, BSC said.

 Last week, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc urged ministries, sectors and government and local agencies to speed up the implementation of public investment projects in the remaining months of the year.

 If the progress of public investment projects was accelerated during the final months of the year, it would benefit both the macro-economy and firms in the construction and building material sectors, BSC forecast.

 According to the General Statistics Office, Vietnam’s total import and export turnover was estimated at 382.72 billion USD in the first nine months of this year. Of which, exports reached 194.3 billion USD, up 8.2 percent over the same period last year while imports stood at 188.42 billion USD, resulting in a trade surplus of 5.9 billion USD. 

 Besides, the central banks had made great efforts to keep the exchange rate between the Vietnamese dong and the US dollar stable amid the volatility of international financial markets, enhancing the confidence of foreign investors and local exporters.

 Technically, the VN-Index is now in the resistance range of 995-1,005 points and if the benchmark can beat the 1,000 points this week, it means the VN-Index begins its uptrend, SHS forecast.

 However, trading liquidity will be essential as it determines how much investors are interested in the market. That is why trading liquidity will be the key for the VN-Index to maintain its uptrend, SHS said.