The Vietnamese stock market entered the derivatives expiration trading session with quite a lot of selling pressure before reversing and increasing slightly at the end of the session on December 18. After closing, the VN-Index increased by more than 3.3 points to nearly 1,678 points. Liquidity was short-lived with a matched value on HoSE reaching about VND13,460 billion. Foreign transactions were a minus point when they net sold VND871 billion in the whole market.
In the trading session, the adjustment pressure mainly came from large-cap stocks in the banking and securities sectors, gradually moving to industries that had not had strong growth momentum.
The most notable stock is the case of Duc Giang Chemicals (DGC) with the third consecutive floor decline in a rather surprising way. This stock price was under selling pressure right from the beginning of the session on December 18, quickly falling to the floor of VND 74,900/share. The volume of exchange-traded stocks waiting to be "rescued" reached more than 20 million units, about 5.3% of the total amount of outstanding stocks.
The market price plummeted, DGC's market capitalization also decreased to VND28,445 billion, equivalent to an "evaporation" of nearly VND6,900 billion after only 3 trading sessions. It is worth mentioning that this stock decreased in floor space without any clear bad information.
In the trading session on December 18, the main adjustment pressure came from large-cap stocks in the banking and securities sectors and gradually shifted to industries that had not had strong growth momentum.
It can be seen that after the recent strong increase, the market's recovery momentum showed signs of slowing down when the VN-Index approached the resistance zone around 1,680 points. Although the market is differentiated with the number of decreasing codes, low liquidity shows that the selling pressure is not too great.
However, this development also reflects the cautious and hesitant psychology of investors when the seller does not want to sell at low prices after the sell-off, but the buyer is not ready to immediately push the price up, causing the market to fluctuate within a narrow range and waiting for more trend signals.
Analysts from Asean Securities Company recommend that short-term investors maintain a moderate proportion, prioritize risk management, and limit chasing during the hois. Profit-taking/reducing the proportion can be considered when the VN-Index approaches the 1,690-1,700 point range, and only increase again when the index overcomes resistance with significantly improved liquidity.
Medium and long-term investors continue their partial disbursement strategy in the market's corrections, focusing on banking, securities, retail, technology and public investment groups with good fundamentals, positive profit prospects and high liquidity.
Regarding the story of falling liquidity in the stock market, according to analysts from ABS Securities Company, in the context of expected interest rates remaining low and there are not many alternative investment channels, it is expected that domestic cash flow will continue to actively participate in the stock market in 2026.
The general market is in the main long-term uptrend for many years. In the long-term increase, there are always medium-term and short-term adjustments, then return to increase in the long-term uptrend. Adjusted market movements will be an opportunity to observe and find stocks suitable for the context of 2026.
ABS forecasts that VN-Index in 2026 will surpass the 2025 peak and aim for 1,940 points in the cautious scenario, the positive scenario could increase to 2,040 - 2,084 - 2,188 points.
