Shares on the HCM City Stock Exchange saw a modest rebound last week, with the VN-Index gaining a cumulative 1 per cent on the week to close at 510.48.
Trading volumes fell by a little over a per cent compared to the previous week, however, averaging 41.9 million shares per day and an average turnover of VND1.6 trillion (US$84.2 million).
On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index edged up on the week by just 0.21 per cent, ending Friday's session at 164.11 points. The northern market also saw a decline of nearly 8 per cent in volumes, which average below 24.6 million shares per session and a value of just VND828.53 billion ($43.6 million).
"Trades slowed down on investor self-consciousness following unfavourable market situations during the two previous weeks," wrote Le Thi Bich Hang, a market analyst with FPT Securities Company, in the firm's weekly report.
No major news helped settle economic concerns until Thursday's session, when the State Bank of Viet Nam confirmed a 3.34-per-cent increase in commercial bank credit during the first quarter of the year, Hang said. The same day, in its monthly meeting, the Government urged the State Bank to deregulate interest rates on short-term loans to businesses.
Throughout last week on the stock market, capital tended to gravitate towards penny stocks and shares buoyed by positive earnings or sectoral outlooks, Hang added.
Blue chips, on the other hand, were beset by profit-takers. Sacombank (STB) and Saigon Securities Inc (SSI), although the most-active shares on the HCM City market on volumes of 10.1 million and 8.9 million, respectively, also saw their shares drop in value by 0.90 and 5.18 per cent, respectively.
Viet Nam-German Steel Pipe (VGS) surprised market watchers by becoming Ha Noi's most-active share over the course of the week, with its solid 2009 earnings report and rising steel prices helping it generate a volume of 8.3 million trades.
Foreign investors also helped contribute to market rebounds on Thursday and Friday, as foreign investment funds entered a new fiscal year on April 1, signaling a start of new disbursements. Foreign investors picked up a net of VND537.7 billion ($28.3 million) on both markets, for a net volume of 9.24 million shares.
Favourable trends on global markets also bolstered the confidence of foreign investors in the domestic market.
"If the Dow Jones reaches 11,000 this week, trading on the domestic markets should be exciting," said Hang, forecasting a VN-Index ranging between 500 and 530 points this week.
Quarterly earnings should also continue to be a decisive factor in market moves this week, she said, although she expected positive earnings figures in the first quarter to hardly be a surprise to the market. "This will result in a slow rally," she said. "Long-term investors can take advantage of this situation to shore up holdings," she added, recommending investments in finance, property and rubber stocks.
Looser monetary policies were a possibility this week, said Nguyen Quang Minh, a market analyst for Tai Viet Securities Company. A buy-in trend could be confirmed this week, but, he added, "a wait-and-see attitude to the reality of policy changes will cause hesitation this week, making the market a litle volatile."