Hanoi (VNA) -The benchmark VN-Index will soon face resistance at 680 to 690 po🔴ints, asshort-term profit-taking activities are forecast to intensify early this week.

The HCM City’s marketrecorded a positive week with four profitable sessions. The VN-Index gainedover 1.8 percent last week, to close at 679.8 points on January 6, itshighest level since November 23, 2016. On the Hanoi StockExchange, the HNX-Index rose 2.3 percent to hit its highest levelsince November 1, 2016 at 82.1 points. Liquidity inched up onthe HCM City market. The trading volume rose nearly 4 per cent over theprevious week, averaging 106 million shares, worth nearly 2.3 trillion VND (101.8million USD) per session. Similar figures on theHanoi exchange were 27.4 million shares and 270 billion VND (12 million USD)per session. “The VN-Index isapproaching the 680 resistance threshold where short-term trading could beconsidered,” Tran Hai Yen, analyst at Bao Viet Securities Co, wrote in a marketreport. However, the marketoutlook is forecast to remain positive with the return of bank stocks as theleading factor in last week’s uptrend. Among the eight largestlisted lenders on the two exchanges, only Military Bank (MBB) and Sacombank(STB) declined, while the other six increased between 4 and 14 per cent, ofwhich Asia Commercial Bank (SCB) was the largest gainer, with a 14-per-centprice hike. The three highest valuedbanks included Vietcombank (VCB), Vietinbank (CTG) and BIDV (BID), which gainedbetween 8 and 11 percent. According to analysts atBIDV Securities Co (BSC), the sharp increase in bank shares last week, thoughunsurprising, was attributed to rumors about their positive earning prospects,while the current prices of these stocks remain fairly low. Additionally,information about the rearrangement of a HCM City-listed bank, and other weakbanks, has raised concerns over a new support policy by the central bank tospeed up the restructuring of the banking system in the near future. “If there is actually asupport policy, movements of bank stocks last week could be the initial signalfor a rising wave for these stocks, as happened in the first half of 2015,” BSCanalysts wrote in a report. The return of foreigninvestors as net buyers in the domestic market last week, accompanied by thecooling down of the US dollar in the forex market, is providing more momentumfor the market’s upturn, they added. Foreign traders were netbuyers for the week on the two markets, responsible for a combined value of nearly286 billion VND. Their buys focused on the HCM Stock Exchange with 245 billionVND, of which their disbursements concentrated on brewery giant Sabeco (SAB),with 118 billion VND, and dairy firm Vinamilk (VNM), with nearly 89 billion VND.-VNA