VN-Index maintains upward momentum

It had crossed the 1000-point mark the previous session. The Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), on which the VN-Index is based, was overwhelmingly in the green this session with 251 stocks gaining and 167 losing.

Total trading volume abated slightly compared to the past week, at VND9.87 trillion ($426.75 million), whereas it was always at least VND10 trillion in the past four trading sessions, the highest trading levels seen in the history of the HoSE.

According to Nguyen The Minh, Head of Retail Research at brokerage Yuanta Vietnam, selling pressure is expected to rise soon as investors seek to take profits after the VN-Index registered nine consecutive gaining sessions.

"However, there is still room for the VN-Index to gain, as current macro-conditions are different from before, and so the 1,000-point resistance threshold will not be a major obstacle," he added.

Analysts at various securities firms pointed to a number of major M&A deals scheduled to take place at the end of the year, new cash from first-time investors, low interest rates, and high liquidity of the main bourse as major factors that will continue to support the VN-Index’s growth.

Bluechips took the spotlight for Friday’s session, with the VN30-Index for the market’s 30 largest caps surging 0.72 percent. 15 stocks on it gained, compared to 12 that lost.

Topping gains was HDB of private lender HDBank, which hit its ceiling price, up 6.7 percent. This session was the deadline for HDBank to finalize its list of shareholders for the year’s dividend issue.

The next best gainers were all from different sectors. POW of electricity firm PetroVietnam Power climbed 3.7 percent, PNJ of jewelry retailer Phu Nhuan Jewelry 3.4 percent, HPG of steelmaker Hoa Phat Group 3.3 percent, and SBT of agricultural exporter TTC-Sugar with 3.3 percent.

Results were mixed in the public banking sector. Of Vietnam’s three biggest lenders, VCB of Vietcombank added 0.5 percent, CTG of VietinBank kept its opening price, while BID of BIDV dropped 0.4 percent. MBB of mid-sized Military Bank was up 2.6 percent.

The same can be said for the private banking sector. TCB of Techcombank was up 0.4 percent, STB of Sacombank kept its opening price, while VPB of VPBank and EIB of Eximbank shed 0.7 percent and 0.9 percent respectively.

In the construction and real estate sector, KDH of Khang Dien House rose 0.6 percent, ROS of FLC Faros up 0.5 percent, VHM of Vinhomes up 0.4 percent, NVL of Novaland was down 0.2 percent, while TCH of Hoang Huy Group topped losses with 2.2 percent.

Other major losing tickers included VJC of budget carrier Vietjet Air, down 0.9 percent, VIC of Vietnam’s largest private conglomerate Vingroup, with 0.8 percent, and SAB of major brewer Sabeco, also with 0.8 percent.

The HNX-Index for the Hanoi Stock Exchange, home to mid- and small-caps, lost 0.15 percent, but the UPCoM-Index for the Unlisted Companies Market gained 0.44 percent.

Foreign investors turned net buyers this session, to the tune of VND90 billion on all three bourses, with buying pressure on VJC of Vietjet Air and the FUEVFVND, an exchange-traded fund replicating the performance of stocks on the VN Diamond Index, a bag of 14 stocks, most of which are blue chips.