Morning News 25/2: Aiming for the stock market to reach at least 100% of GDP by 2026

Macroeconomic News

• United States: President Donald Trump is implementing new global tariffs at a rate of 10% instead of the 15% announced last weekend, according to a statement from the customs authority.
• United States: Consumer confidence in February rose sharply to 91.2, far exceeding expectations of 87. This data shows that public sentiment is gradually improving, especially as assessments of the current situation and employment prospects are on the rise again.
• China: China's Ministry of Commerce said it is closely monitoring the new US tariffs and will consider adjusting its countermeasures at the "appropriate time." Beijing also called on Washington to abandon its unilateral approach to tariffs and affirmed its readiness to engage in a new round of trade talks, with the expectation that the exchanges will be "frank and constructive."
• Vietnam: "In 2026, strive for the stock market to reach at least 100% of GDP," said Minister of Finance Nguyen Van Thang at the "Ceremony to Ring the Bell to Open Stock Trading in the Spring of Binh Ngo 2026" held on the morning of February 24.
• Vietnam: According to data from the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Finance, as of the end of January 2026, the city had more than 20,470 valid FDI projects, with a total registered capital of more than $142.2 billion.
• Vietnam: According to preliminary reports from the General Department of Customs, in the first half of February 2026 (from February 1 to 15), Vietnam's total import and export turnover reached approximately 41.67 billion USD, an increase of 5.92% compared to the first half of January 2026 and an increase of 31.77% compared to the same period last year.

Market news

• VN-Index: The short-term recovery momentum remains intact and is heading towards the resistance zone of 1890 - 1900; however, the current uptrend is steep and needs more consensus from the market as a whole. Investors should remain cautious when trading.
• VNZ: announced the issuance of shares under the 2025 Employee Stock Option Plan (ESOP). Accordingly, VNZ plans to issue an additional 349,581 ESOP shares (equivalent to 1.19% of outstanding shares) to employees in the Company and its subsidiaries.
• KLB: announced the second public offering of bonds, with the bond code KLB7Y202502. The total number of bonds offered in the second tranche is 10 million bonds, with a par value of VND 100,000 per bond. The total issuance value at par is VND 1,000 billion. The bond maturity is 7 years.
• VTR: Reported a loss in Q4 2025 despite a reversal of nearly VND 160 billion in provisions, marking its first quarterly loss since 2022. According to the Q4 2025 financial report, the company recorded net revenue of VND 1,769 billion, up 19% year-on-year. However, the company still reported a loss of VND 10 billion - the first loss since Q2 2022.
• HPB: finalized the 2025 interim dividend at a rate of 100% in cash, causing the market price to increase by more than 70% in just one week. Bao Bì PP just announced the ex-dividend date of March 4 for the 2025 interim dividend in cash, at a rate of 100% (10,000 VND/share).

Source: BIDV Securities (BSC)