Stock market slumps as trading cools

By Hung Le   February 5, 2020 | 04:44 am PT
Stock market slumps as trading cools
An investor looks at the local bourse indices. Photo by AFP.
The VN-Index dropped 0.34 percent to 925.91 points Wednesday, with trading liquidity falling to pre Lunar New Year levels.

Order-matched transactions on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), on which the VN-Index is based, fell to VND2.97 trillion ($127.69 million) from VND3.28 trillion ($141.5 million) in the previous session.

The three sessions from last Thursday to Monday had been some of the busiest in the past three months. HoSE reopened last Thursday after a week-long break for the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday. Order-matched liquidity surpassed VND3.8 trillion ($163.38 million) each day, fuelled by coronavirus-induced selloffs by investors.

At the end of Wednesday session, 151 HoSE stocks had lost while 180 gained. HoSE accounts for 90 percent of market cap for all of Vietnam’s listed companies.

The VN30-Index for Vietnam’s 30 biggest market caps, edged down 0.02 percent, with 16 stocks losing and 10 gaining.

ROS stocks of real estate developer FLC Faros continued to be the biggest losing stock, falling 6.9 percent, its floor price, as it has done for most sessions in the past month.

Other major losing stocks were SAB of Vietnam’s biggest brewer Sabeco, with shed 4.4 percent, and EIB of private lender Eximbank, down 2 percent.

Stocks of Vietnam three biggest lenders by assets all lost this session, with BID of BIDV losing 1.7 percent, CTG of Vietinbank 1.3 percent, and VCB of Vietcombank 1 percent.

VIC stocks of Vingroup, the biggest private conglomerate in Vietnam, and the biggest market cap stock on HoSE, fell 0.3 percent, along with VRE of its retail arm Vincom Retail, which slipped one percent. VHM of Vingroup’s real estate developer Vinhomes, however, gained 0.4 percent this session.

The biggest gainers this session were stocks of two private mid-sized lenders, HDB of HDBank, and VPB of VPBank, which surged 3.1 percent and 3 percent respectively. They were followed by BVH of insurance giant Bao Viet, which added 2 percent, and PLX of state-owned petroleum distributor Petrolimex, up 1.6 percent.

Meanwhile, the HNX-Index for stocks on the Hanoi Stock Exchange, Vietnam’s second main bourse for small and midcap stocks, rose 0.6 percent, and the UPCoM-Index for unlisted public companies gained 0.85 percent.

Foreign investors were net sellers on all three bourses to the tune of VND190 billion ($8.19 million). Selling pressure was focused on VNM of Vietnam’s biggest dairy firm Vinamilk, and HPG of leading steelmaker Hoa Phat Group.

 
 
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