VN-Index recovers positively

After a sharp decline, VN-Index continued to be under pressure to correct to the support zone of 1,220 points. However, positive signals appeared when demand returned in the last sessions of the week, helping the index recover well with cash flow returning and liquidity gradually improving.

The market closed the week with the VN-Index increasing by 1.51% (equivalent to 18.63 points), to 1,249.11 points.

This development is considered by experts as a positive sign of recovery as the market had previously experienced a month of quiet trading and lack of supporting information, causing the VN-Index to experience a period of challenging investor psychology at important price levels such as around 1,220 points.

Among the industry groups, banking stocks are still the group with positive growth momentum, pulling the market up, thanks to more positive information about credit growth, with codes TCB (Techcombank, HOSE), VCB (Vietcombank, HOSE), HPG (Hoa Phat Steel, HOSE), FPT (FPT, HOSE),...

In addition, some faces in the VN30 group such as GVR (Vietnam Rubber, HOSE), PLX (Petrolimex, HOSE), BVH (Bao Viet, HOSE),... And industry groups such as logistics, technology - telecommunications, public investment, construction materials, oil and gas... also attracted quite good demand.

Regarding foreign investors, foreign capital flows have the opposite trend when recording strong net selling momentum throughout 5 consecutive sessions, with the highlight being the session on January 16. After 5 sessions, foreign investors net sold approximately 4,900 billion VND in the whole market.

Series of securities companies announced business results for the fourth quarter of 2024

Right before the 2025 Lunar New Year holiday, a series of securities companies announced their business results for the fourth quarter and the whole year of 2024.

VPS Securities Joint Stock Company announced its financial report (FS) for the fourth quarter of 2024 with operating revenue reaching VND 1,544 billion and profit after tax reaching VND 837.3 billion, up 329% over the same period, setting the highest level in the company's history.

In 2024, VPS achieved operating revenue of VND 6,466 billion, profit after tax of VND 2,521 billion, a sharp increase of 278%.

FPT Securities Joint Stock Company (FTS, HOSE) in the fourth quarter of 2024 achieved total operating revenue and financial revenue of VND 320.8 billion, up 74% over the same period; profit after tax reached VND 159.5 billion, up 280% over the same period. Of which, profit was driven by margin lending interest, reaching VND 162.2 billion, up 41% over the same period. In contrast, the brokerage segment recorded a slight loss, with revenue reaching VND 40.9 billion, down 41% over the same period, while expenses amounted to VND 43.7 billion.

Conversely, many companies, including notable names, unexpectedly reported losses.

Typically, with Rong Viet Securities Corporation (VDS, HOSE) , with the separate financial statements for the fourth quarter of 2024, recorded operating revenue of VND 150 billion, down 17% compared to the same period last year. Operating expenses skyrocketed by 82% to VND 143 billion, causing the company to report a loss after tax of VND 21 billion, marking the first quarter of loss since the second quarter of 2022. In the same period last year, Rong Viet made a profit of more than VND 74 billion.

However, for the whole year of 2024, VDS still recorded a profit after tax of VND 286 billion, down 14% compared to 2023 but completed the annual profit plan.

In addition, among the nearly 20 securities companies that have announced their Q4/2024 business results, some other companies also recorded losses, such as: PBSV lost 3 billion, CVS lost 4 billion and VNSC lost 5 billion, and all three of these companies reported losses for the whole year of 2024.

2 "hot" stocks recommended to buy

FiinTrade's statistics from the strategic reports of 13 securities companies show that Hoa Phat (HPG, HOSE) and Techcombank (TCB, HOSE) are the two stocks that all 13 companies assess as having potential in 2025.

Accordingly, HPG is expected to benefit from the recovery of the real estate market, increased public investment disbursement and protection policies along with the key Dung Quat 2 project.

Meanwhile, TCB expects growth from real estate credit and non-interest income to continue to recover.

In addition, leading the list of potential stocks for 2025 are many representatives of Banks: VCB (Vietcombank, HOSE), BID (BIDV, HOSE), CTG (VietinBank, HOSE), VPB (VPBank, HOSE), ACB (ACB, HOSE); Oil and gas: PVD (PV Drilling, HOSE), PVS (PTSC, HNX); Consumer goods: MWG (Mobile World, HOSE), FRT (FPT JSC, HOSE), PNJ (Phu Nhuan Jewelry, HOSE), VHC (Vinh Hoan, HOSE); Real estate: KDH (Khang Dien House, HOSE), NLG (Nam Long, HOSE), KBC (Kinh Bac, HOSE).

Notably, this list has very few stocks in the construction and materials industry, although most securities companies believe that public investment disbursement will be an important driving force for 2025.

VN-Index expected to increase positively before Tet

Last week, the market increased despite foreign investors still net selling a "huge" amount of more than 4,600 billion VND.

According to securities companies, in a positive scenario, the VN-Index could continue to advance to the 1,250 - 1,260 point range before the Tet holiday, with a minimum liquidity of about VND10,000 billion/session on the HOSE floor.

Securities is the leading industry group as a number of large securities companies have gradually announced positive profit results and set ambitious targets for the market upgrade scenario in 2025.

Pinetree Securities commented that in the short term, next week is the last trading week of the lunar year, the lack of liquidity continues to prevent the market from making a strong breakthrough. The strongest driving force for the market is currently the 2024 business results of enterprises and the official inauguration of US President Donald Trump to see how tariff policies will affect Vietnam's trade.

Comments and recommendations

Mr. Bui Ngoc Trung , Investment Consultant , Mirae Asset Securities, assessed that according to observations, before and after Tet, the stock market tends to increase better with the concept of "getting lucky" by buying stocks before Tet and being able to close profits after Tet. Therefore, it is possible that this year's market sentiment in the last week of the year of Giap Thin and 2 weeks after Tet will also be more positive after the positive recovery week just passed. Liquidity may not have many big changes, maintained at 10,000 - 13,000 billion VND/session to support the slight increase of VN-Index.

According to Mr. Trung, the medium and long-term expected picture with predicted profit growth of industries this year will be quite high at over 20%, from which many quality stocks will be re-evaluated at a higher level.

Industry groups that investors can pay attention to with promising prospects in the new year 2025 include: Banking, Industrial real estate, Real estate and retail.

In the context of the market approaching Tet and the long holiday, investor sentiment is cautious, this is a "good" time to focus on re-evaluating the investment portfolio as well as planning a resource allocation strategy in the new period, especially in 2025. Investors should limit the use of margin and maintain a reasonable stock ratio.

Asean Securities assume that, The stock market has recorded a recovery, however, liquidity remains low, reflecting the cautious sentiment of investors. Large-cap stocks have recovered, partly thanks to the positive trend from the international market, in addition, industry groups such as Securities, Public Investment and Seaports have also recorded remarkable growth thanks to positive supporting information. Overall, the domestic market in the last week of the year may continue to recover but with a state of fluctuation as the main theme until macroeconomic factors, exchange rates and the international situation become clearer.

BSC Securities Comments: After the last week of increase, the market breadth is leaning towards the positive side with 17/18 sectors increasing points. In the trading sessions near Tet, the market may continue to increase points, heading towards the 1,255 - 1,260 point range.