Daily Market Watch 21/08/2026: Stock Prices Surged Broadly Prior to The FTSE EM Stock Inclusion Announcement. Trading Band is Proposed To Widen to 10%

MARKET HIGHLIGHTS

o      The market opened lower but quickly reversed as investors were more excited ahead of the FTSE Russell’s EM inclusion announcement due tonight. The final list of Vietnamese constituents to be included to the EM basket will be released this evening Vietnam time and the reclassification shall effect on 21 September 2026. Passive inflows are estimated at USD 1-2bn (of which 10% will be disbursed in the first tranche), while total active follow-through might potentially reach USD5-6bn. Several brokers estimated that 25-30 Vietnamese stocks will be qualified. This led to a rally of a broad stock basket. Besides, banks extended yesterday’s advance following the SBV’s plan to report to the PM on a VND 50tn (USD 1.9bn) refinancing mechanism for rental housing development. The three SOE banks added around 1% on strong domestic buying as a result. Other private banks traded relatively higher. Vingroup names also advanced, led by 2% increases in VRE and VHM while VIC and VPL rose ~1% on active local and overseas demand. Other large caps managed to attract domestic buying as well. MSN, FPT, MWG, and GVR climbed more than 2%. Broader mid- and small-cap names picked up 1-2% as selling pressure eased. The VN-Index was up 0.28% at the midday break with 166 advancers versus 114 decliners.

o       Brokerages led the rally as investors were more bullish following ahead of the FTSE EM Upgrade. In addition, the market circulated a proposal to increade the daily trading band for HOSE stocks from +/-7% to +/-10% from 28 December 2026, while a circuit breaker is being considered to contain abnormal volatilities. The proposal was viewed positively for brokerages as wider trading bands could encourage higher trading activity. Hence, VIX, VND, VCI, VDS, and CTS closed at the ceiling price on massive local and overseas buying. SSI also finished at limit up price after Mr. Nguyen Hong Nam, brother of SSI Chairman Nguyen Duy Hung, announced plans to acquire 5mn SSI shares for VND 97bn and raise his stake to 0.6%. By the close, 7 brokerage stocks hit the limit-up price while more than 20 others advanced over 2%.

o    PNJ hit the limit-up price in early trading following the release of investigation findings related to last month’s diamond smuggling case. Thanh Hoa Police Department said PNJ-LAB Director Dang Ngoc Thao and employee Tran Tien Nhu Nghi allegedly smuggled natural and synthetic diamonds from Hong Kong, altered GIA codes, and re-certified them for personal profit. The diamonds were sold directly to individuals rather than distributed through PNJ’s retail network. Investigators concluded that PNJ’s own diamond imports were fully documented and compliant, suggesting the case currently centers on individual misconduct rather than PNJ’s operations. Retail investors jumped in to buy PNJ shortly after the news. Around 9mn PNJ shares were queued at the ceiling price in the ATO session. The stock maintained at limit up price through out the day.

o       Mid-cap stocks performed well as foreign inflows returned in the afternoon. Property stocks staged a broad recovery. VRE, KDH, DXG, BCM, HDC, and PDR rallied over 4% amid renewed overseas buying interest. High-beta names also accelerated as liquidity improved. GEX, VSC, TCH, and DIG hit the ceiling on heavy foreign demand after several consecutive sessions of declines. Breadth across the mid-cap basket was strongly positive at 61 gainers versus just 4 decliners.

o      The VN-Index jumped 2.0% as blue chips extended their afternoon gains. BID, CTG, VCB, TCB, and VPB all advanced more than 2%, while VHM added 3.17%. The large-cap Index climbed 2.2%. The mid-cap Index outperformed at +2.9% on a broad mid-cap rally. The small-cap Index rose 1.5% with five stocks hitting the ceiling. Market breadth turned decisively positive at 263 gainers versus 70 decliners.

o     Liquidity picked up sharply as buying activity accelerated. Total HOSE trading value rose 34% DoD to USD 693mn. Foreign investors reversed their morning net selling to finish with net buying of USD 1.5mn. Buying was concentrated in SHB (+USD 5.3mn), SSI (+USD 2.7mn), and MSN (+USD 1.9mn), while selling focused on VCB (-USD 3.0mn), BSR (-USD 2.4mn), and GMD (-USD 2.3mn)