VN-Index posts fifth consecutive gaining session

After opening at 780.70 points in the morning, Vietnam’s benchmark index immediately surged 11 points, with growth driven by the market’s blue chips, especially SAB of major brewery Sabeco, one of the stock market’s biggest caps.

Buying eased before noon with investors trying to cash in on short-term gains, bringing the VN-Index back to around 785 points, after which it gradually made its way back to 789.60 points by the end of the session.

The Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), on which the VN-Index is based, saw 281 stocks gain and just 87 fall. Total trading volume, which includes order-matched and put-through transactions, surged 30 percent to VND5.37 trillion ($227.87 million), the highest so far this month.

The VN30-Index for HoSE’s 30 biggest caps also added 1.16 percent, with 25 gaining tickers and only three losing.

Topping gains this session was MWG of electronics retail Mobile World, rising 6.6 percent, and SAB of Sabeco, which added 4.9 percent. SAB has been performing particularly well this month, gaining in 16 of its last 18 sessions.

Mid-sized banks were some of the biggest gainers this session, led by state-owned MBB of Military Bank, up 3 percent, HDB of private HDBank, 2.6 percent, and TCB of private Techcombank, 1.1 percent.

In the trio of Vietnam’s three biggest state-owned lenders by assets, CTG of VietinBank led with 1.5 percent, followed by BID of BIDV and VCB of Vietcombank, both gaining 0.3 percent.

Other major gainers this session included SBT of agricultural firm TTC-Sugar, which added 4.6 percent, CTD of construction giant Coteccons, with 3.9 percent, and HPG of leading steelmaker Hoa Phat Group, with 2.2 percent.

In the opposite direction, ROS of real estate developer FLC Faros topped losses with 2 percent. The ticker is one of the most volatile on the VN30, fluctuating from floor to ceiling in most sessions in the past month. ROS also has the smallest market cap out of all the blue chips in this basket.

VPB of private VPBank and MSN of food conglomerate Masan Group were the other remaining losers, falling 1.4 percent and 0.3 percent respectively.

Meanwhile, the HNX-Index for stocks on the Hanoi Stock Exchange, home to mid and small caps, rose 1.26 percent, and the UPCoM-Index for stocks on the Unlisted Public Companies Market added 1.21 percent.

Foreign investors were net sellers for the 14th consecutive session on all three bourses, for a total value of VND435 billion ($18.45 million). Selling pressure was mostly focused on VIC of Vingroup and VNM of dairy giant Vinamilk.