VN-Index exceeds 970 points as bank stocks gain

January 16, 2020 | 02:00 am PT

Investors observe the stock market on a computer at securities firm in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo by VnExpress/Huu Khoa.

Strong bank stock gains drove VN-Index up 0.7 percent to 974.31 points Thursday after remaining below 970 points since December.

174 stocks lost while 154 gained on main bourse Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HoSE), on which VN-Index is based.

Order-matched transactions surged 34 percent from the previous session to VND2.66 trillion ($114.92 million), close to last month's average trading of VND2.8 trillion ($120.79 million) worth of shares per session.

VN30-Index for Vietnam’s 30 biggest market caps rose 0.75 percent, with 16 gaining tickers and 12 losing.

BID of Vietnam’s largest bank by assets BIDV led gains this session with 5.9 percent, followed by third largest bank by assets Vietinbank’s CTG at 5.5 percent.

Private lender HDBank’s HDB rose 3.2 percent, while state-owned Military Bank’s MBB upped by 2.6 percent.

Other gainers included SSI Securities Corporation (SSI), up 3.8 percent, and industrial appliance maker Refrigeration Electrical Engineering Corporation (REE), up 2.4 percent.

Inversely, ROS shares of real estate developer FLC Faros was again the biggest losing stock on HoSE, having fallen 6.7 percent.

Meanwhile, HNX-Index for stocks on Hanoi Stock Exchange, Vietnam’s second main bourse for small and mid-cap stocks, rose 1.1 percent, while UPCoM-Index for unlisted public companies edged up 0.2 percent.