VN-Index plunges to 13-month low

This is also the benchmark index’s second biggest losing session in over a year. The index had downed 3.22 percent on January 30 after trading reopened following a one-week Lunar New Year break, with losses a result of mass coronavirus-induced selloffs by investors.

The Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), Vietnam’s main bourse on which the VN-Index is based, saw an overwhelming 330 stocks lose against just 42 that gained.

Order matched transactions surged to VND4.16 trillion ($179 million), making Monday the highest liquidity session in the past three weeks. Average trading last month was around VND2.6 trillion ($112.17 million) per session.

The VN30-Index for the bourse’s 30 biggest market caps dropped 3.62 percent, with all tickers losing, six of them falling to their floor price, the lowest they can go on a trading day.

POW of Vietnam’s second-biggest electricity generator PetroVietnam Power topped losses this session, falling 7 percent.

It was followed by CTD of construction giant Coteccons, and ROS of real estate developer FLC Faros, each shedding 6.9 percent.

The next three stocks that hit the floor at 6.9 percent, were SSI of securities firm Saigon Securities Inc., TCB of private mid-sized lender Techcombank, and VPB of private mid-sized VPBank.

These tickers were immediately followed by three state-owned banking stocks. BID of BDIV and CTG of VietinBank, two of Vietnam’s three biggest lenders by assets, fell 6.5 percent and 5.6 percent respectively, while MBB of Military Bank shed 5.2 percent.

VIC of Vingroup, Vietnam’s biggest private conglomerate, and HoSE’s biggest market cap stock, lost 2.4 percent. Tickers of its subsidiaries, VHM of real estate developer Vinhomes, and VRE of retail arm Vincom Retail, lost 2.4 percent and 4.4 percent respectively.

Other major losers this session included BVH of insurance giant Bao Viet Group, down 4.3 percent, PLX of state-owned petroleum distributor Petrolimex, 4.2 percent, and FPT of IT services giant FPT, 4 percent.

VJC of budget carrier VietJet Air and EIB of private Eximbank lost the least this session at 0.5 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively.

Meanwhile, the HNX-Index for stocks on Hanoi Stock Exchange, Vietnam’s second main bourse for small and midcap stocks, plunged 3.78 percent, while the UPCoM-Index for unlisted public companies fell 1.9 percent.

Foreign investors were net sellers for the tenth consecutive session on all three bourses, with a net sell of VND50 billion ($2.16 million).

However, they were net buyers on HoSE to the tune of VND7.4 billion ($329,300), with buying pressure on VIC of Vingroup and VCB of state-owned lending giant Vietcombank.