VN-Index on fifth straight gaining streak

The Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), on which the VN-Index is based, was a sea of green with 302 tickers gaining and 142 losing. Total trading volume abated slightly over the previous session, to VND17 trillion ($734.32 million).

While the benchmark index had climbed 58.95 points, or 5.37 percent in the past five sessions, official macro reports show Vietnam’s economic outlook has been improving.

According to the latest report by London-based data firm IHS Markit, Vietnam’s Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), an indicator of the health of its manufacturing sector, had improved from 49.9 points in November to 51.7 points in December.

The PMI is based on five major metrics of new orders, inventory levels, production, supplier deliveries, and employment.

"Last month’s PMI showed Vietnam’s economic sector had shown improvement thrice in the past four months," the report said. A reading above 50 indicates economic expansion, while one below 50 points indicates contraction.

The VN30-Index for the market’s 30 largest caps soared 1.51 percent this session, with and overwhelming 23 stocks gaining and four losing.

Topping gains this session was NVL of real estate developer Novaland, hitting its upper daily limit day with 6.9 percent.

Private banks were among the best performers. HDB of HDBank rose 4.5 percent, TCB of Techcombank 4.2 percent, STB of Sacombank 2.5 percent, VPB of VPBank 1.5 percent, while EIB of Eximbank topped losses with 2 percent.

State owned banks also performed positively, with Vietnam’s three largest lenders by assets, CTG of VietinBank, VCB of Vietcombank and BID of BIDV gaining 2.6 percent, 1.9 percent, and 0.2 percent respectively. MBB of mid-sized Military Bank added 2.4 percent.

Other major gainers this session included MSN of food conglomerate Masan Group, up 4.2 percent, GAS of energy giant PetroVietnam Gas, with 2.5 percent, REE of appliances maker Refrigeration Electrical Engineering, 2 percent, and TCH of real estate developer Hoang Huy Group, with 1.4 percent.

Stocks in the Vingroup family were more lackluster compared to the rest of the market this session. VIC of parent conglomerate Vingroup shed 0.1 percent, VHM of its real estate arm Vinhomes kept its opening price, while VRE of retail arm Vincom Retail was up 2.1 percent.

The other two losing tickers were SAB of brewer Sabeco and MWG of electronics retailer Mobile World, both having lost 0.4 percent.

Despite the overwhelmingly positive performance, brokerage BVSC warns the sheer amount of cash pouring into the market shows signs of a fever, and many stocks may be overbought at this point, meaning the VN-Index could very likely see corrective movements in the near future.

Meanwhile, the HNX-Index for the Hanoi Stock Exchange, home to mid-and small-caps, surged 2.08 percent, while the UPCoM-Index for the Unlisted Companies Market gained 0.75 percent.

Foreign investors turned net sellers to the tune of VND340 billion on all three bourses this session, with selling pressure mostly on HPG of steelmaker Hoa Phat Group, which kept its opening price, and VCI of brokerage Viet Capital Securities, a non-blue chip that gained 0.7 percent.