Stock market slips in quiet session

222 stocks fell and 133 rose on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), on which the VN-Index is based.

The value of order-matched transactions fell slightly from the previous session to VND2.48 trillion ($106.72 million), far below the VND3 trillion ($129.11 million) average so far this month.

The VN30-Index for Vietnam’s 30 biggest market caps, on the other hand, edged up 0.05 percent, with 14 gaining tickers and 16 losers.

ROS of real estate developer FLC Faros again led losses with a 7 percent fall. This is the second straight session the stock had hit its floor price, after five consecutive sessions of leading gains on the HoSE.

It was followed by SAB of Vietnam’s biggest brewer Sabeco, down 2 percent, and VIC of Vingroup, Vietnam’s biggest private conglomerate and also the biggest market cap stock on HoSE, down 1.8 percent.

Prior to the last two sessions, VIC was one of the most stable stocks on the VN30, seldom gaining or losing over 0.3 percent per session in the past quarter.

Stocks of Vingroup’s two subsidiaries, VRE of retail arm Vincom Retail, and VHM of real estate arm Vinhomes, fell 1.1 percent and one percent respectively.

Stocks in the oil and gas sector all fell this session, led by GAS of energy firm PetroVietnam Gas, which fell 1.4 percent, followed by POW of Vietnam’s second-biggest electricity generator PetroVietnam Power, down 0.5 percent, and PLX of petroleum distributor Petrolimex, down 0.4 percent.

In the opposite direction, CTD of construction giant Coteccons surged 5.9 percent.

It was followed by stocks of three banks, with BID of state-owned banking giant BIDV leading with a 3 percent increase. The other two gainers were mid-sized lenders, TCB of private Techcombank and MBB of state-owned Military Bank, up 2.1 percent and 0.9 percent respectively.

Other major gainers included VNM of Vietnam’s largest dairy firm Vinamilk, which added 0.8 percent, and MWG of electronics retailer Mobile World, up 0.4 percent.

Meanwhile, the HNX-Index for stocks on Hanoi Stock Exchange, Vietnam’s second main bourse for small and midcap stocks, fell 0.15 percent, while the UPCoM-Index for unlisted public companies shed 0.37 percent.

Foreign investors were net sellers again to the tune of VND130 billion ($5.6 million) across all three bourses, with selling pressure mostly on MSN of food conglomerate Masan Group (down 0.2 percent), and VIC of Vingroup.