VN-Index drops 0.6 percent as blue chips sink

By Hung Le December 10, 2019 | 01:41 am PT

The VN30 for Vietnam's 30 biggest blue-chips fell 0.77 percent Tuesday session. Photo by Shutterstock/Pavel Ignatov.

Blue-chips led stock market losses Tuesday, with the VN-Index falling 5.76 points or 0.6 percent to close at 960.30 points.

On the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), on which the VN-Index is based, 204 stocks lost and 130 gained.

The VN30-Index, representing Vietnam’s 30 biggest market cap stocks, fell 0.77 percent with 20 stocks losing and only 9 gaining. Six stocks fell above 2 percent this session.

MSN shares of food giant Masan Group remained the highest losing stock for four of the last six sessions, having fallen by 6.45 percent. The stock had started its descent last Tuesday when Masan announced a merger deal with Vingroup, Vietnam’s biggest conglomerate, since losing a total 19.25 percent.

NVL of real estate developer Novaland dropped 2.6 percent, and CTD of construction giant Coteccons, fell 2.5 percent.

Most banking stocks fell, with BID of BIDV and CTG of VietinBank, two of Vietnam’s three biggest state-owned lenders by assets, shedding 0.3 and 0.5 percent respectively.

In more positive news, BVH of insurance giant Bao Viet rose 3 percent, followed by REE of industrial appliance maker Refrigeration Electrical Engineering Corporation, and STB of private lender Sacombank, both gaining one percent each.

Foreign investors were net sellers to the tune of VND147.45 billion ($6.36 million), with buying pressure mostly on MSN shares of Masan Group, VHM of Vinhomes, and ROS shares of real estate developer FLC Faros.

Meanwhile, the HNX-Index for stocks on the Hanoi Stock Exchange, Vietnam’s second main bourse for small and mid-cap stocks, shed 0.31 percent, while the UPCoM-Index for Unlisted Public Companies lost 0.77 percent.