Positive Q2 reports to drive up VN stocks

 

Hanoi (VNA) - Expectations of positive corporate earnings reports will lead Vietnamese shares up this week, especially financial-banking stocks, analysts said.

Both local indices ended on June 30 on a positive note to extend their gains for a third day and made week-on-week increases.

The benchmark VN-Index on the HCM Stock Exchange rose 0.6 percent to finish at 776.47 points.

The HNX-Index on the Hanoi Stock Exchange added 0.4 percent to end at 99.14 points.

Both local indices totaled a three-day rally of about 1.1 percent and a weekly increase of 1 percent, each.

According to analysts, the rise of the stock market last week was due to the increase of large-cap shares, which were boosted by investors’ expectations of positive earnings reports in the second quarter. Analysts forecast that will also be the main driver pushing the stock indices further this week.

Among all 20 sectors on the stock market, the banking and brokerage industries are the ones whose earnings reports could meet investor expectations.

Nguyen Ngoc Lan, senior analyst at Agribank Securities Co (Agriseco), said the banking sector would lead the market up as bank stocks have also been supported by high credit demand and the recently approved resolution on dealing with bad debts.

Though the bad debt resolution, which was approved by the National Assembly on June 21, will need time to make a real impact on bank earnings, it will help bank stocks gain attention from investors after they were hit lately by profit-taking, Lan said.

Bank stocks, as well as securities firm shares, will lead the stock market up in coming weeks, especially after a lull that was too long, according to Phan Dung Khanh, analyst at Maybank KimEng Securities Co.

Those stocks will be supported by positive business information on both the sector and corporate levels, such as the derivatives market that will be launched in August, the resolution on dealing with bad debts and the continuous rise of the stock market, he said.

Khanh added that the stock market had risen recently after investors changed their taste from other channels, such as property, gold, foreign currency and bank saving that did not offer interest rates as high as securities products.

In addition, the Government had made its best efforts to attract more investment, provide supporting policies for companies and draw more attention from foreign investors, he said.

In the second quarter, foreign investors posted a net buy value of nearly 6 trillion VND (270 million USD), a quarterly increase of 50 percent, the online newspaper tinnhanhchungkhoan.vn reported on June 30.

Last week alone, foreign investors recorded a net buy value of 850 billion VND, an increase of 101.8 percent week on week. That has helped strengthen both domestic and foreign investor confidence in the prospects of the stock market.

For securities firms, increasing market liquidity also boosted prospects for additional earnings from brokerage activities.

Last week, a total of 1.32 billion shares were exchanged on both local bourses in the five trading sessions, worth 22.6 trillion VND. That raised the total trading value in Vietnam’s securities market in the second quarter to 270 trillion VND, a quarterly increase of 36 percent and a yearly increase of 70 percent.

Nguyen Duc Hung Linh, a senior analyst at Sai Gon Securities Inc (SSI), said brokerage shares have been supported by low saving and deposit rates at banks.

According to SSI, annual saving interest rates at commercial banks fell 20-50 basis points for both short- and long-term saving accounts, making depositors seek profits in other channels, including securities.

Linh said upcoming initial public offerings (IPOs) of large-cap corporations, and the launch of the derivatives market in August, would also provide more opportunities for brokerage firms as there would be more products in the market and investors should count on securities companies to seize investment opportunities.-VNA