Market Highlights - Today’s Key Takeaways  

1. Equities: The VN-Index closed at 1,691 points (+1.63%), edging closer to the 1,700 mark. Short-term profit-taking could trigger some volatility.
2. Sector performance: Real estate and banking stocks led the rally, with several banks hitting the ceiling price. In contrast, chemicals, steel, and fertilizer names saw sharp declines.
3. Liquidity: Market-wide trading value reached ~VND 51 trillion, heavily concentrated in banking. Despite the index closing higher, the number of decliners still outpaced gainers.
4. Foreign investors: Net sellers for the 11th consecutive session, offloading VND 2.417 trillion, mainly in VPB, HPG, and CTG. Meanwhile, SSI, BID, and VND enjoyed net inflows.
5. Gold: Domestic prices hit a new record at VND 125.4 million/tael, while global gold stood at USD 3,341/ounce. The gap of ~VND 18-19 million keeps gold a hot safe-haven channel.
6. FX market: USD/VND set a new high at 25,273, with the parallel market closer to 26,500, underscoring persistent FX pressures.
7. Bonds: The 10-year government bond yield climbed to 3.61%, tracking the global upward trend. 

Market Details 

1) Key Market Moves: VN-Index Surges Past 1,690  

• The VN-Index closed at 1,691.50 points, up +1.63% from the previous day, marking another strong breakout after surpassing the 1,600 mark last week.
• The index traded in a narrow range early in the session before accelerating in the afternoon as cash rotated strongly into large caps, particularly banks and property developers. From August 1 to 21, the index has steadily climbed in an orderly fashion.
• On the technical side, after breaking through the 1,660-1,670 zone, the index successfully retested the 1,680 level, opening up room to challenge the 1,700-1,705 resistance area. However, short-term profit-taking is likely here as momentum indicators are running hot. 
   

2) Liquidity & Market Breadth  

Trading value continued to improve compared with early August averages. Looking at the daily sequence: the VN-Index has rallied four sessions in a row: 1.636 (18/8) to 1.654 (19/8) to 1.664 (20/8) and 1.691 (21/8).

Market breadth leaned decisively positive, driven by banks and residential/industrial real estate, while commodity-related sectors such as chemicals, steel, and fertilizers corrected lower. 
 

3) Sector Leaders & Laggards 

Clear divergence across sectors today:

• Winners: Real Estate (+2.81%), Banking (+1.50%), Industrial Parks (+1.26%)
• Losers: Chemicals (−3.18%), Steel (−2.80%), Fertilizers (−2.58%) 

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4) Notable Stock Movers  

 4.1 Banking sector bounces - driving VN-Index higher

• Many banking stocks hit the ceiling today, including TPB, MSB, STB, VIB, OCB, and SSB. Notably, TPB and STB posted extremely high liquidity, exceeding VND 2,500 billion and VND 1,500 billion, respectively.
• Among the top 10 stocks contributing the most to VN-Index’s gain today, 9 were from the banking sector: VPB, BID, VCB, LPB, ACB, TCB, STB, CTG, and HDB. The sector also led the market in trading value.
• Statistics show VPB contributed the most (~+4 points), followed by BID +2.7, VCB +2.36, and LPB +1.93.

4.2 Divergence within the banking group

• VPB rose +5.75%, LPB +5.79%, ACB +5.18%, HDB +4.40%, BID +3.93%, TCB +2.59%, VCB +1.90%, CTG +2.37%, and MBB +1.44%. Meanwhile, stocks such as TPB, MSB, STB, VIB, SSB, and OCB all hit the ceiling.

4.3 Liquidity & overall market picture

• The total trading value on HoSE declined compared to yesterday, standing at around VND 51,000 billion, showing a “narrower flow” but still heavily concentrated in the banking sector.
• Despite VN-Index’s gain, the market displayed a “green shell - red core” status with more losers than gainers (214 declining vs 118 advancing stocks on HoSE).

4.4 Heavy pressure from foreign investors

• Foreign investors continued strong net selling, with a value of about VND 2,417 billion on HoSE, marking the 11th consecutive session of net outflows. Stocks under pressure included VPB, HPG, CTG, GEX, KDH, NLG, KBC, and VIX.
• However, they still recorded net buying in SSI.
• According to VNEconomy, in the morning session alone, foreign investors net sold VPB -VND 4,212 billion, CTG -115.6 billion, HPG -113.8 billion, GEX -84.4 billion, VIX -79.9 billion, KBC -65.9 billion, and VNM -54.8 billion. On the contrary, strong net buying was seen in SSI +213.5 billion, BID +54.1 billion, VND +53.4 billion, VCI +45.2 billion, HDB +44.8 billion, and MSB +41.8 billion. 
   

5) Gold Market: Domestic Prices Hit All-Time Highs 

Domestic gold: 

• SJC bullion surged +600,000 VND per tael, reaching a record 124.4-125.4 million VND/tael (buy-sell).
• Other brands (DOJI, PNJ, Bảo Tín Minh Châu) moved in tandem.
• Gold jewelry (9999) added 500,000 VND, quoted at 117.3-119.8 million VND/tael.
• The buy-sell spread narrowed to ~1 million VND, suggesting sellers are keeping margins tight to boost liquidity.

Global gold:

• Spot gold rallied to around USD 3,341/oz, up more than USD 33 intraday.
• A weaker dollar and dovish July Fed minutes buoyed sentiment.
• At Vietcombank’s FX rates, world gold equates to ~106.9 million VND/tael, still 18-19 million VND cheaper than local prices.Shape 

6) Currency & Bonds 

FX:

• The SBV set the central USD/VND rate at 25,273, up 10 VND and a record high.
• Banks are quoting near the upper end of the permitted band (24,009-26,537).
• The “street market” (informal FX) traded at ~26.51-26.58k/USD, underscoring ongoing short-term pressure.

Government bonds:

• 10-year yield rose to 3.61% (from 3.56% yesterday), continuing its gradual climb through August.
• Rising yields reflect inflation/tight FX conditions but remain moderate versus equity valuations.

Outlook:

Today’s session reinforced the bullish August trend, with banks and property firmly in the driver’s seat while commodity sectors cooled off. The FX market remains the wild card: if USD pressures ease, the VN-Index could soon conquer 1,700. If not, expect turbulence before the next leg up.

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