VN-Index edges back into the green

223 stocks gained and 123 lost on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), on which the VN-Index is based. Total trading volume fell back to more average levels, reaching VND4.25 trillion ($181.7 million), down 30 percent over the previous session which was one of the busiest this year.

The benchmark index had crashed as low as 750 points within the first hour of trading, but cash pouring into banking and finance sector blue chips helped a gradual rise through the course of the trading day.

The VN30-Index for the stock market’s 30 biggest market caps rose by 1.1 percent, with 20 stocks gaining and nine losing.

Leading gains this session was BID of the country’s biggest state-owned lender by assets BIDV, up 4.3 percent, followed by FPT of IT services giant FPT with 3.7 percent, HDB of private mid-sized bank HDBank, and SSI of brokerage Saigon Securities Inc., both having risen 3.5 percent.

All but two stocks in the banking sector ended up in the green this session, with other major gainers being VPB of private VPBank, up 3.3 percent, MBB of state-owend Military Bank 2.9 percent, and CTG of state-owned giant VietinBank 2.4 percent.

Food and beverage blue chips also recorded positive performances, with SAB of major brewer Sabeco rising 2.9 percent, MSN of food conglomerate Masan Group adding 3.8 percent, and VNM of the country’s largest dairy firm Vinamilk gaining 0.7 percent.

Other major gainers this session include MWG of electronics retailer Mobile World which rose 3.3 percent, and HPG of leading steelmaker Hoa Phat Group with 3.1 percent.

In the opposite direction, VHM of real estate developer Vinhomes and VRE of mall operator Vincom Retail among the worst performing stocks, shedding 3.8 percent and 3.5 percent respectively. Both these companies are subsidiaries of Vietnam’s largest private conglomerate Vingroup, whose VIC ticker also fell 0.5 percent.

VCB of state-owned Vietcombank, the banking sector’s highest market cap ticker on HoSE, fell 3.1 percent. It was the stock with the largest individual impact on the VN-Index this session, taking away 1.85 points, according to data from securities firm VNDIRECT.

Among oil and gas stocks GAS of energy giant PetroVietnam Gas fell 1.6 percent, PLX of petroleum distributor Petrolimex shed 0.4 percent, while POW of electricity generator PetroVietnam Power recovered 1.6 percent.

Meanwhile, the HNX-Index for stocks on the Hanoi Stock Exchange, home to mid and small caps, added 1.86 percent, and the UPCoM-Index for stocks on the Unlisted Public Companies Market rose 0.59 percent.

Foreign investors were net sellers for the 17th consecutive session on all three bourses for a total of VND340 billion ($14.53 million), with selling pressure mostly on VRE of Vincom Retail and VNM of Vinamilk.