Shares are forecast to go up this week, propelled by foreign net buying and positive first-quarter business results from listed companies.

I recently had a discussion with our team of analysts on what the key factors are when analysts issue recommendations on individual stocks. Analysts need to have an understanding of the current developments of the global economy and the economy of the target country. Only then can they arrive at the right risk/return assumptions for long-term stock selections.

The VN-Index declined for a second day on Friday, concluding the week at 1,231.66 points, down 0.26 per cent from Thursday.

This is a short-term move to help ease the current overload issue at Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE).

Companies that want to list their shares on the Hochiminh Stock Exchange (HoSE) will temporarily switch to trading on the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX) in an attempt to address a system error frequently clogging trade on HoSE.

The Vietnamese stock market saw nearly 113,900 new stock trading accounts opened last month, the highest since the establishment of the local stock exchange, according to the Vietnam Securities Depository.

Shares extended losses on Friday morning as multiple large-cap stocks suffered profit-taking pressure right from the beginning of trading.