VN-Index hits five-week peak

The Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), on which the VN-Index is based, saw 231 stocks gain and 135 lose.

Total trading volume nearly doubled over the previous session, to VND8.06 trillion ($348.97 million), the highest liquidity seen on HoSE since the beginning of the year. Of this, put-through transactions amounted to over VND2.7 trillion ($116.9 million).

According to analysts, cash seems to be returning to the market, fuelled by positive sentiment after Vietnam reported 35 days without community transmission of the Covid-19 virus. But buying pressure mostly came from domestic investors, as foreign investors continued to be net sellers to the tune of VND120 billion ($5.2 million) this session.

Last month’s average trading came only to around VND4.2 trillion ($181.85 million) per session, according to data from brokerages.

The VN30-Index for the market’s 30 largest caps rose even further at 1.53 percent, with 24 gainers and just five losers. Gains this session were spearheaded by stocks in the banking sector.

CTG of VietinBank, one of Vietnam’s three biggest lenders by assets, topped gains with 4.4 percent. The other two, VCB of Vietcombank and BID of BIDV, however, were among those that gained the least, rising 0.6 percent and 0.5 percent respectively.

Among mid-sized banks, EIB of Eximbank rose 3.2 percent, TCB of Techcombank 3.1 percent, MBB of state-owned Military Bank, 2.1 percent, and STB of private Sacombank added 1.7 percent.

Other big gainers included HPG of leading steelmaker Hoa Phat Group, up 4.2 percent, PLX of petroleum distributor Petrolimex, up 3.2 percent, MWG of electronics retailer Mobile World with 2 percent, and FPT of IT services giant FPT with 1.9 percent.

In oil and gas, GAS of energy giant PetroVietnam Gas rose 1.8 percent, while POW of the country’s second biggest electricity generator PetroVietnam Power added 1 percent.

VIC of private conglomerate Vingroup, HoSE’s biggest cap, was the only stock that kept its opening price this session. VRE of Vingroup’s retail arm Vincom Retail gained 1.4 percent, while VHM of real estate arm VHM climbed 1.8 percent.

In the opposite direction, CTD of construction giant Coteccons led losses with 0.7 percent, followed by SAB of major brewer Sabeco, and ROS of real estate developer FLC Faros, both falling 0.6 percent.

The remaining two tickers in the red were VPB of private VPBank, and BVH of insurance giant Bao Viet Group, both down 0.4 percent.

Meanwhile, the HNX-Index for stocks on the Hanoi Stock Exchange, home to mid and small caps, edged up 0.1 percent, and the UPCoM-Index for tickers on the Unlisted Public Companies Market rose 0.96 percent.

Asian markets also rallied Tuesday, following sharp gains on Wall Street as the U.S. economy continued to slowly reopen and U.S. drug maker Moderna announced positive early results from a potential Covid-19 vaccine.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 1.49 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.89 percent, and South Korea’s Kospi surged 2.25 percent.

Mainland China’s Shanghai Composite gained 0.81 percent, and its Shenzhen Component rose 1.21 percent.