VN-Index edges up in sixth straight gaining session

The index had plunged as low as 730 points in the first hour of trading, but gradually picked up to end 1.33 points over its opening value.

170 stocks gained and 184 lost on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), on which the VN-Index is based. Total trading volume plunged 20 percent over the previous session to VND3.77 trillion ($160.6 million), with order-matched transactions accounting for 75 percent.

The VN30 index for HoSE’s 30 biggest market caps slipped 0.35 percent this session, with 12 stocks gaining and 16 losing.

The loss-makers were led by VIC of private conglomerate Vingroup, the market’s largest capped stock, which fell 3.4 percent this session. The ticker accounted for a 2.59-point decrease in the VN-Index, according to data from brokerage firm VNDIRECT.

All but two tickers in the banking sector were in the red this session. Mid-sized banks were at the deeper end of the losing pool, with VPB of private VPBank, EIB of private Eximbank and MBB of state-owned Military Bank dropping 2.8 percent, 1.9 percent and 1.6 percent respectively.

VCB of Vietcombank and CTG of VietinBank, two of Vietnam’s three biggest state-owned lenders by assets, fell 1 percent and 0.8 percent respectively, while the third, BID of BDIV, added 2.6 percent.

Oil and gas were a mixed bag this session with PLX of petroleum distributor Petrolimex shedding 1.2 percent and GAS of energy giant PetroVietnam Gas falling 0.3 percent, while POW of electricity generator PetroVietnam Power surged 6.9 percent to its ceiling price.

Other major losers included HPG of steelmaker Hoa Phat Group, down 1.6 percent, PNJ of Phu Nhuan Jewelry, down 1.4 percent, and FPT of IT services giant FPT, down 1 percent.

In the opposite direction, volatile stock ROS of real estate developer FLC Faros swung from being the biggest loser last session to hit its ceiling price Wednesday, up 7 percent.

It was followed by VHM of real estate developer Vinhomes, Vingroup’s subsidiary, which surged 6.1 percent. VRE of its sister corporation Vincom Retail, which operates malls, added 0.9 percent.

Other major gainers include MSN of food conglomerate Masan Group, up 2.4 percent, SSI of brokerage Saigon Securities Inc., up 1.4 percent, and SAB of major brewer Sabeco, 0.7 percent.

Meanwhile, the HNX-Index for stocks on the Hanoi Stock Exchange, Vietnam’s second main bourse for small and midcap stocks, rose 0.48 percent; while the UPCoM-Index for unlisted public companies fell 0.24 percent.

Foreign investors were net sellers on all three bourses to the tune of VND275 billion ($11.71 million), with selling pressure mostly on VIC of Vingroup and POW of PetroVietnam Power.