Stock market week 18-22/8: VN-Index surpasses peak, hard to avoid "shakes"

VN-Index surpasses new peak

The stock market last week maintained a strong growth momentum similar to the previous week with 4/5 good increasing sessions during the week, only the last session of the week decreased, strong profit-taking pressure appeared in the afternoon session.

However, unlike some previous forecasts about the "shaking" trend, VN-Index increased right from the first session of the week and maintained its upward momentum when the market received a breakthrough from the banking group thanks to positive news about the required reserve ratio in Circular 23/2025/TT-NHNN.

The market only saw profit-taking pressure when the VN-Index approached the 1,660-point threshold at the end of the week, although the decrease was not too large, the index closed the week at 1,630 points, up 2.84% compared to the previous week.

On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index and HNXUPCoM-Index also had a positive trading week, ending the week with 282.34 points and 109.61 points, respectively.

Chứng khoán tuần 18 – 22/8: VN-Index vượt đỉnh, khó tránh — Screenshot: SSI iBoard

The second consecutive week of increasing points and record points were broken with the average weekly matched liquidity increasing +69% compared to the average level of 20 sessions. Accumulated to the end of the trading session, the average liquidity on the HOSE floor reached 1,828 million shares (+0.16%), equivalent to a value of VND 51,907 billion/session (+2.37%).

In terms of industry groups, last week, the market breadth was well diversified and rotated, with 12/21 industries gaining points. Leading the way were insurance (+11.95%), securities (+7.03%) and construction (+5.37%),... While the plastics (-3.75%), chemicals (-3.05%) and textiles (-2.41%) groups were under pressure to correct.

For foreign investors, net selling continued, reaching VND8,217 billion. The focus was on FPT (FPT, HOSE) with VND2,254 billion, HPG (Hoa Phat Steel, HOSE) with VND1,542 billion, MBB (MBBank, HOSE) with VND613 billion. On the other hand, CMG ( CMC Technology, HOSE) with VND189 billion, VIX (VIX Securities, HOSE) with VND187 billion, VJC (VietJet Air, HOSE) with VND168 billion were the 3 stocks with the most net buying.

Bank stocks break out

The Vietnamese stock market marked positive developments with impressive gains and abundant liquidity. Notably, the banking group was almost entirely covered in green, with many stocks rising sharply by over 10%. Leading the breakout was MBB (MBBank, HOSE) with an increase of 23.2%, becoming the "highlight" of the week. Followed by VAB (VietABank, HOSE) up 17%,SHB (SHB, HOSE) up 11.8%, EIB (Eximbank, HOSE) up 11.24% and HDB (HDBank, HOSE) up 10.52%.

In addition, some other codes also recorded positive developments, close to the 10% threshold such as LPB (LPBank, HOSE) increased by 10.17%, ACB (ACB, HOSE) increased by 9.48% and BAB (BacABank, HNX) increased by 9.15%, contributing to strengthening the attractiveness of the banking sector in the market.

The important driving force for the banking stock group to "accelerate" comes from the new policy. Last week, the State Bank issued Circular 23/2025/TT-NHNN, effective from October 1, 2025, which reduces the required reserve ratio by 50% for credit institutions receiving compulsory transfers and supporting banks according to the approved plan. The group of banks involved includes Vietcombank, HDBank, MB, VPBank - names that immediately reflected positively in stock prices.

Bank stock liquidity continues to be abundant. During the week of August 11-15, the total value of matched transactions of 27 banks reached VND66,377 billion, up 2.85% compared to the previous week, showing that cash flow is still prioritizing "catching the wave" of the banking industry.

The market is growing strongly, it is difficult to avoid "shakes"

VN-Index closed the last trading week with a gain of 2.84%, reaching 1,630 points. The index recorded 4 consecutive sessions of increase before facing selling pressure and adjusting in the last session of the week. The main index fell from the historical peak, set earlier, above the 1,640 point mark.

Experts say that the cash flow in the market shows excitement and determination, rotating quickly between industry groups to seek profit opportunities. However, profit-taking pressure has increased significantly at the end of the week, especially in stocks that have increased rapidly before. Accordingly, fluctuations are inevitable when the index is on the trend of conquering higher thresholds.

Vietnam Construction Securities (CS) believes that although the positive trend still dominates the weekly chart, a sell signal has appeared in the last down session of the week, so new buying positions should be more limited.

Specifically, the bullish signal is still overwhelming, but the upward momentum has weakened in the past week and there is a high possibility of a correction in the sessions of the coming week. CSI maintains a cautious stance, not rushing to open a bottom-fishing buying position in the falling sessions of the following week, continuing to maintain a larger cash position; patiently waiting for the balance accumulation zone to return to a new net buying position.

Therefore, investors are advised to limit buying stocks that have shown strong growth momentum and should prioritize choosing stocks that show signs of attracting cash flow and rebounding from the most recent accumulation base to consider increasing their weight during this period.

Besides, exchange rate pressure is also one of the market factors that need attention.

Agribank Securities (Agriseco) commented that the stock market has many supporting fundamental factors, including: Growth data shows that listed enterprises' profits in the first 6 months of the year increased by more than 30% compared to the same period in 2024, creating a foundation for positive business results in the following quarters; The credit growth orientation in 2025 at 16% will support businesses to expand their scale, boost revenue and profit; Stable macroeconomic policies, adjusted GDP target increased from 8% to 8.3 - 8.5% and inflation maintained at 4.5% will be the foundation for the market to grow sustainably;...

However, Agriseco noted that the tariff risk has not been completely resolved and needs to be monitored in the medium and long term. The company warned that the high USD/VND exchange rate and inflationary pressure from the prices of materials, healthcare, electricity and water could affect interest rates and capital flows into the stock market. In addition, the complicated international context with US-China trade tensions, regional conflicts and strategic competition between major powers are also uncertain factors for the global and Vietnamese economic outlook.

Race to issue shares of listed enterprises

Amid the vibrant stock market, continuously reaching new records, a series of listed enterprises are taking advantage of favorable opportunities to promote capital mobilization plans.

Construction Development Investment Joint Stock Corporation - DIC Corp (DIG, HOSE) has just restarted the plan to offer 150 million shares to existing shareholders, at a ratio of 1,000:232 at a price of VND12,000/share, expected to collect VND1,800 billion from the third quarter of 2025 to the first quarter of 2026. On the stock exchange, DIG shares stood out when they nearly doubled in 4 months, to VND23,150/share.

Southern Hanoi Housing and Urban Development Investment Corporation (NHA, HOSE) also approved the issuance of nearly 16.2 million shares, expected to raise 162 billion VND to pay off debt and project costs. NHA shares have increased 50% since April.

Hoang Quan Real Estate Trading and Services Consulting Joint Stock Company (HQC, HOSE) attracted attention when planning to issue 50 million shares privately to convert debt, although the market price is only around 4,000 VND/share, 60% lower than the par value. The creditor unit Hai Phat will convert 212 billion VND of receivables into 21.2 million HQC shares, with a commitment to add other assets to ensure the recovery value.

Dat Xanh Group (DXG, HOSE ) plans to issue 93.5 million shares at a private price of VND18,600/share, raising VND1,739 billion for the DatXanh Homes Parkview project in Ho Chi Minh City. DXG shares have increased by 105% in the past 4 months, to VND21,550/share.

In addition, PVPower (POW), Taseco Land (TAL) and many other businesses are also preparing to submit to shareholders for approval their issuance plans to increase capital.

Comments and recommendations

Mr. Bui Ngoc Trung, consultant, Mirae Asset Securities , commented, The Vietnamese stock market maintained a very good upward trend last week before a slight correction session at the end of the week with profit-taking gradually taking place when the VN-Index was trading at a new historical peak of over 1,600 points.

The current market status still maintains long-term growth momentum, but there will still be short-term fluctuations with profit-taking pressure and large cash flows still taking advantage of the opportunity for slight adjustments to buy well, helping the index to continue to hold steady around 1,600 points and move towards higher growth targets.

He expects that the cash flow will still focus on the banking group, which will continue to spread with the faces having large capital bases and high CASA coefficients (non-term deposits): VCB (Vietcombank, HOSE), MBB (MBBank, HOSE), banks that benefit at the same time with the reduction of required reserves: VPB (VPBank, HOSE), HDB (HDBank, HOSE). Not only improving the net interest margin (NIM), the reduction in capital costs also opens up room for profit growth in the fourth quarter and the whole year of 2025.

This is an important basis to expect the banking group to continue to lead the VN-Index in the upcoming uptrend when the industry's valuation still has a lot of room with the credit growth target of over 16% this year.

From a macro perspective, Vietnam's economy still maintains a stable growth state as the Government firmly targets GDP growth of 8-8.5% in 2025, along with flexible supportive monetary policies. Along with that, public investment disbursement continues to accelerate in the last months of the year with a series of key projects for the construction, construction materials, and real estate industries. With the continuous and strong increase in market liquidity (an average of 40,000 - 50,000 billion VND) and the possibility of early implementation of pilot solutions for cryptocurrency transactions in recent times, the group of securities industry stocks will also benefit directly in the third quarter.

Compared to the average of previous years, when the Vietnamese stock market is gradually improving and developing to enter a new upgrading era in 2025 and 2026, this will be an opportunity to attract a huge foreign capital flow into the market in the coming time.

Asean Securities It is predicted that VN-Index will increase volatility next week with near support at 1,600 - 1,620 points. For short-term trading, investors with a high proportion of stocks should only prioritize holding representatives with strong cash flow and maintain the uptrend. As for investors with a large proportion of cash, they can disburse part of the capital during fluctuations, prioritizing leading sectors with momentum from macro policies - Banking, Securities, Real Estate...

TPS Securities It is expected that in the next trading sessions, if there is no strong selling pressure causing the market to close lower than the level of last weekend's session, the index will head towards the 1,730 point zone.

Dividend payment schedule this week

According to statistics, there are 23 enterprises that have decided to pay dividends in the week of August 18-22, of which 17 enterprises pay in cash, 5 enterprises pay in shares and 1 enterprise issues additional shares.

The highest rate is 60%, the lowest is 1%.

5 businesses pay by stock:

Saigon - Hanoi Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SHB, HOSE), ex-dividend date is August 18, rate 13%.

MST Investment JSC (MST, HNX), ex-dividend date is August 19, rate 10%.

Cho Lon Real Estate JSC (RCL, HNX) , ex-right trading date is August 19, rate 2%.

SCI Corporation (S99, HNX), ex-right trading date is August 19, rate 5%.

Quang Ngai Urban Environment JSC (MQN, UPCoM), ex-right trading date is August 22, rate 17%.

1 additional issuer:

Hoang Huy Financial Services Investment JSC (TCH, HOSE), ex-right trading date is August 20, rate 30%.

Cash dividend payment schedule

*Ex-dividend date: is the transaction date on which the buyer, upon establishing ownership of shares, will not enjoy related rights such as the right to receive dividends, the right to buy additional issued shares, but will still enjoy the right to attend the shareholders' meeting.

Code	Floor	Education Day	Day TH	Ratio
SB1	UPCOM	August 18	September 18	7%
FHS	UPCOM	August 19	August 28	8%
PSL	UPCOM	August 19	September 10	2.5%
MBS	HNX	August 19	September 19	12%
DBM	UPCOM	August 19	4/9	11.5%
BTW	HNX	August 19	September 19	9%
BRR	UPCOM	August 19	September 29	7%
GEE	HOSE	August 20	September 10	30%
IME	UPCOM	August 20	September 16	5%
DPR	HOSE	August 20	September 29	20%
VSH	HOSE	August 20	September 30	10%
BTT	HOSE	August 21	2/10	15% (phase 2/2024)
BTT	HOSE	August 21	September 10	15% (phase 1/2024)
Oil	UPCOM	August 21	September 11	2.5%
VSN	UPCOM	August 22	10/10	5%
HND	UPCOM	August 22	September 29	1%
NTC	UPCOM	August 22	September 25	60%
NAV	HOSE	August 22	8/9	8%