Stocks increase dramatically, liquidity is weak, what should investors do?

Rare situation, many stocks "no sell side"

Following the move by US President Donald Trump to suspend reciprocal tariffs for 90 days with more than 75 countries, including Vietnam, the global stock market immediately responded positively and Vietnam was no exception.

VN-Index witnessed the strongest increase in history with more than 74 points right from the beginning of the morning session, then maintained a sideways state in the afternoon session. "Purple" spread across the board with 534 stocks increasing (of which 380 stocks hit the ceiling), only 7 stocks decreased (1 stock hit the floor).

The entire VN30 basket is in "purple" status, the VN30 group index increased by more than 80 points.

Index soars, liquidity remains weak, many stocks have "no" sellers (Photo: SSI iBoard)

Thanks to this development, "stock traders" all expressed excitement in investment groups and communities, in complete contrast to the gloomy sentiment that lasted for nearly a week, after the index lost 222 points, bringing the index to a 15-month low, since the news that the US would impose a 46% reciprocal tax on Vietnam.

However, it is worth mentioning that liquidity today is low, closing the session with only nearly 6,306 billion VND, about 1/3 compared to the same period of the previous session. Transactions are in a drip state, the "no sell side" makes many investors "want to buy but can't".

Investor Ngoc Lan (35 years old, Thanh Xuan District, Hanoi) said: "Following closely the information from the meeting between Vietnam and the US last night, plus Mr. Donald Trump's postponement of the tax, I waited for the market to open early in the morning, transferred 200 million VND from my savings account to stocks to "catch the bottom", even placed an ATO order, aiming to buy at all costs, but still could not buy".

In fact, this is the situation of many "stock traders" in today's session when many stocks are "empty" on the sell side, typically the 30 "pillar" stocks in the "VN30 basket" are all in this situation.

Experts say the reason for this is the "holding stock" mentality of investors when there are still many concerns about the next developments of the market.

Liquidity is weak, what should investors do?

For now, President Donald Trump's announcement to suspend reciprocal tariffs could be considered short-term good news for the stock market.

According to Mr. Tran Quoc Toan, Director of Branch 2 - Headquarters, Mirae Asset Securities , not only Vietnam but also the global stock market immediately responded very positively to President Donald Trump's announcement of postponing the reciprocal tax increase for 90 days with most countries, keeping the general tax rate of 10%.

The near-ceiling increase in today's scores shows that the Vietnamese stock market has changed its sentiment to positive after a period of reacting to tariff risks.

This is a good opportunity with a long-term strategy , anticipating new expectations after the stock valuation level has become more attractive.

Currently, the market P/E ratio is at 11.5x, lower than the 5-year average of 13x. In the early stages of the recovery, large-cap banking stocks performed well, contributing to the overall growth of the index as new money tends to choose these stocks.

In addition, investors can prioritize stocks in economic sectors that are not directly affected or neutral for long-term portfolios.

To "choose the right place to put your trust", in addition to the above economic sector factors, it is necessary to select based on factors such as: Strong financial position, low debt, good business cash flow, history of regular dividend payments, especially having an attractive discount valuation after the recent decline compared to the historical average.

However, judging by the current situation, negotiations are still ongoing and the final results still need time to be answered, so today's recovery session somewhat helps investors reduce their psychological burden, but the probability of risk still remains.

Therefore, for the short-term strategy , Mr. Toan noted that investors should maintain their current portfolio to take advantage of the general recovery of the market, while limiting buying in case the stock continues to increase sharply. Controlling the portfolio proportion and using reasonable leverage in the current context is extremely necessary.

Closing the session on April 10, VN-Index increased by 74.04 points (+6.77%), to 1,168.34 points. HNX-Index increased by 15.74 points (+8.17%), to 208.32 points, UPCoM-Index increased by 8.43 points (+9.99%), to 92.84 points.

Total trading volume on HOSE reached only 370 million shares, equivalent to a trading value of VND6,306 billion, down 81% compared to the previous session, of which order matching transactions accounted for VND4,660 billion, down 85%.

VN-Index recorded 380 stocks hitting the ceiling and 534 stocks increasing in price, while only 7 stocks fell and 1 stock hit the floor. Notably, it was a rare occurrence when all 30 stocks in the VN30 group hit the ceiling and there were no sellers.

Foreign investors net sold 1,000 billion VND in the whole market, in which the focus belonged to KBC (Kinh Bac Real Estate, HOSE) with 154 billion VND. In contrast, ACB (ACB, HOSE) was the strongest net buyer with 133 billion VND.

Source: https://phunuvietnam.vn/chung-khoan-tang-soc-thanh-khoan-yeu-nha-dau-tu-nen-lam-gi-20250410073737411.htm