Despite choppy sessions last week, the domestic stock market still posted a weekly gain, with the VN-Index breaking over to the 1,200 point-level.

However, the recovery trend is challenged as liquidity stayed low, while investors are likely to be reluctant to return to the market this week after long holidays.

This week, the market only has two trading days: Thursday and Friday.

The benchmark VN-Index on the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) closed last week at 1,209.52 points, hovering in a range of 1,200 - 1,211 points, while the HNX-Index on the Hà Nội Stock Exchange (HNX) was last traded at 226.82 points.

For the week, the former gained nearly 3 per cent and the latter increased 2.7 per cent.

Last week, the liquidity on HoSE reached VNĐ82.79 trillion (US$3.3 billion), marking a significant decline of 36.6 per cent from the previous week.

Foreign investors were net sellers, with a total value of over VNĐ1.1 trillion. The VN-Diamond fund certificates, FUEVFVND, experienced the strongest selling pressure, with a value amounting to more than VNĐ1.6 trillion.

It was followed by Vinhomes (VHM) and HDBank (HDB), which witnessed net selling values of VNĐ383 billion and VNĐ203 billion, respectively.

The market experienced significant divergence, with the recovery mainly focused on stocks that reported positive business results in the first quarter of the year.

FPT Corporation (FPT) and Mobile World Investment Corporation (MWG) led the rebound with gains of over 10 per cent. Vietnam Rubber Group (GVR) also made a positive contribution to the uptrend.

Conversely, PV Gas (GAS) had a negative influence on the market, erasing nearly 0.85 points from the VN-Index last week.

Technically, the market showed signs of recovery last week, raising expectations of reaching a resistance level of 1,215-1,230 points. However, the low liquidity indicates investors' cautiousness ahead of the long holidays.

There was a concern about the potential emergence of negative news during the holidays, which would impact the decisions of many investors.

Liquidity is still in focus as the strength of bottom-fishing demand is not yet robust, and the short-term supply continues to play a significant role in the market's recovery last week.

While some large-cap stocks contributed to the market's rebound last week, the performance within this group was not evenly distributed.

Ho Chi Minh Securities Corporation (HSC) said that as the group is looking for bottoms, it is unable to provide sustained support and a solid foundation for the market benchmark.

Overall, the recovery is viewed as a technical rebound following a recent sharp and significant decline. As a result, a potential correction scenario for the VN-Index cannot be ruled out, as the upward momentum is not strong enough to overcome the resistance level of 1,215 - 1,230 points.

The market is expected to experience some fluctuations as it continues its recovery towards the 1,225 point-level.

Short-term investors should utilise the rebound to adjust their portfolios, reducing exposure to weak-performing stocks and focusing on holding stocks with positive upward trends. The funds generated can be allocated to strong-performing stocks to maximise profits.

Meanwhile, medium- and long-term investors should maintain their holdings in stocks with solid fundamentals until the target prices are reached. Additionally, they may consider increasing their holdings in stocks at the support area of 1,162-1,186 points. — VNS