VN-Index edges up in quiet session

The index had dipped below opening price in the morning but gradually made its way up by the end of the afternoon.

182 stocks gained and 159 lost on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), on which the VN-Index is based. Total transaction volume this session was VND3.42 trillion ($144.54 million), the lowest in the past month, much lower than April’s average liquidity of approximately VND4.2 trillion ($177.51 million) per session.

The VN30-Index for the market’s largest caps also added 0.23 percent, with 12 gaining and 13 losing. Results among each group of stocks were varied, with the exception to the banking sector of which finished mostly in the red.

Leading gains this session was VNM of leading dairy firm Vinamilk, up 3 percent, followed by GAS of energy giant PetroVietnam Gas, up 2.7 percent, and BVH of insurance giant Bao Viet Group, with 2 percent.

ROS of real estate developer FLC Faros, the smallest cap on the VN30, added 2 percent, HPG of major steelmaker Hoa Phat Group, 1.9 percent, and VPB of private VPBank, 1.5 percent.

VIC of Vietnam’s largest private conglomerate Vingroup and the VN30’s biggest cap, added 1 percent and VRE of its retail subsidiary Vincom Retail rose 0.4 percent, but VHM of its real estate arm Vinhomes fell 2 percent.

In the opposite direction, VJC of budget carrier Vietjet Air topped losses with 2.4 percent, followed by SAB of major brewer Sabeco, down 2.1 percent. Sabeco closed its fifth session in a row in the red after being one of the best performers on the VN30 in the past month.

SAB released its first quarter financial report on May 1, which outlined how the Covid-19 epidemic had caused revenues to drop 47 percent year-on-year. 

Two of Vietnam’s three biggest state-owned banks by assets, CTG of VietinBank and VCB of Vietcombank shed 1 percent and 0.9 percent respectively, while BID of BIDV, the third, kept its opening price.

Of midsized banks, MBB of state-owned Military Bank dropped 0.3 percent, while EIB of private Eximbank and STB of private Sacombank fell 0.3 percent and 0.1 percent respectively.

Other losers included POW of electricity generator PetroVietnam Power, and MSN of food conglomerate Masan Group, both down 1.6 percent.

Meanwhile, the HNX-Index for stocks on the Hanoi Stock Exchange, home to mid and small caps, fell 0.29 percent, while UPCoM-Index for stocks on the Unlisted Public Companies Market added 0.13 percent.

Foreign investors continued to be net sellers, albeit at a much lower amount compared to last week’s average of VND403 billion ($17.05 million) per session. Tuesday’s net sell value was VND132 billion ($5.59 million), with selling pressure mostly on STB of private Sacombank, and HPG of Hoa Phat Group.