The local stock market is forecast to move marginally between 950 points and 970 points.

The local stock market is forecast to move marginally between 950 points and 970points.

The benchmark VN-Index on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange inched down 0.16 percent on January 3 to end the week from December 30-January 3 at965.14 points.

Afterone trading week, the VN-Index gained a total of 0.17 percent. The Vietnamese stock market closed on January1 for the New Year holiday.

The benchmark index moved within a narrow range last week under pressure from international stock markets, which were weighed down by tensions between the USand Iran following an airstrike that killed a top Iranian military official on January 2.

Theevent escalated tensions in the relationship between the two nations and liftedcrude prices on international markets.

US-Irantensions would benefit oil and gas stocks in the short term, BIDV SecuritiesCorp (BSC) said in its weekly report.

Butin general, market sentiment was poor last week, especially after the newsregarding the US air strike.

Investorswere not confident at the moment, as international stocks were under pressurefrom US-Iran diplomatic relations, Sai Gon-Hanoi Securities Corp (SHS) said in a note.

“Investorsare becoming more pessimistic about the market’s short-term prospects,” SHS said.

The VN-Index may keep struggling as it has been in the last four weeks and thesettlement of the index may last longer than expected, the company said.

US-Irantensions could impede the market sentiment in the coming week, Nguyen Trung Du, VNDirect SecuritiesCorporation’s investment director, told tinnhanhchungkhoan.vn.

Amajority of investors were cautious after the US air strike killed the Iranianofficial but some thought the event would not have big impact on global stocks,analyst Hoang Thach Lan at Viet Dragon Securities Corporation said.

“Nowwe have to wait for further responses from Iran and other leaders around theworld, and look at what effect the event has on global stocks.”

“Mondayis important as it would shape the market movements for the whole week,” hesaid.

Anotherfactor that may be taken into consideration is the pre-Tet sentiment, as there are only threeweeks to go until the Lunar New Year.

Accordingto FPT Securities Corporation (FPTS), in 2019,the VN-Index fell a total of 0.38 percent in the five-day period prior to Tet. In 2018, the benchmark soared a total of4.76 percent in the same period and 2.05 percent in 2017.

Butany gains would be marginal as investors would want to save their cash beforethe holiday, thus lowering the market trading liquidity – which is an essentialfactor for developing markets like Vietnam.

TheVN-Index may swing in the 950-970 point zone with low liquidity, SHS forecast./.VNA