The Vietnamese stock market is still vulnerable to the unpredictability of global shocks

The benchmark VN-Index onthe Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange increased by total 0.58 percent to finish lastweek at 980.00 points.

On the Hanoi StockExchange, the HNX-Index lost total 0.43 percent to end last week at 102.35points.

Nearly 206 million shareswere traded on the two local exchanges, worth 4.52 trillion VND (194.4 millionUSD).

The opposition of the twolocal indices means investors are unsure about the short-term prospectsof both global and domestic markets, according to analysts.

International investorsthen tried to offload their local assets and turned to safer ones to avoid therisks.

In Vietnam,foreign investors last week net-sold 834 billion VND worth of Vietnameseshares. They sold net 1.04 trillion VND in the previous week.

The last two weeks of netforeign selling indicates foreign investors are running out of confidence,analysts said.

The Vietnamese stockmarket is now under heavy pressure from the international political andeconomic news, said Le Duc Khanh, director of market strategy department atPetroVietnam Securities (PSI).

The main concern is howthe US economy, if it falls, will affect the Vietnamese economy, he said.

That concern is drivingthe market sentiment and results in the mixed responses among investors, headded.

The US-China trade warand the development of the US benchmark 10-year bond make the globalmarkets quite volatile, Vu Minh Duc, director of market research and analysisat Viet Capital Securities, told tinnhanhchungkhoan.vn.

This week, there isno sign showing the global stocks will settle down, so the Vietnamese sharesmay continue hovering, he said.

The foundation of the Vietnamese stock market is not stable, so there is littlechance for a sustainable short-term uptrend, according to BIDV Securities Corp.

The market will move in atight range between 970-985 points this week and more declines are expected, Khanhat PSI said.

Last week, the benchmarkVN-Index advanced thanks to the growth of bank and consumer stocks. Food andbeverage producers also performed well.- VNS/VNA