VN-Index recovers after major losing session

By Hung Le May 28, 2020 | 04:06 am PT

An investor looks at stock prices on a laptop at a brokerage in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran.

The VN-Index rose 0.46 percent to 861.39 points Thursday, a day after enduring the biggest single-session loss in over a month.

After plunging 1.34 percent Wednesday, the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), on which the VN-Index is based, was still more red than green with 209 losing tickers and 162 gaining.

Buying pressure on large caps, especially banking stocks, were the driver of gains this session. Total transaction volume rose nearly 10 percent to VND7.32 trillion ($313.29 million), the second highest figure so far this year.

The VN30-Index for the market’s 30 largest caps added 0.34 percent, with 14 tickers gaining and 10 losing.

VRE of mall operator Vincom Retail topped gains this session, surging 5.5 percent, followed by CTD of construction giant Coteccons, which rose 3.6 percent.

Vietnam’s three biggest state-owned lenders by assets were also among the bigger gainers this session. BID of BIDV rose 2.3 percent, VCB of Vietcombank 1.9 percent and CTG of VietinBank 0.7 percent.

Other gaining stocks included STB of private Sacombank, up 2 percent, POW of electricity generator PetroVietnam Power, up 1 percent, and NVL of real estate developer Novaland, up 0.9 percent.

VIC of private conglomerate Vingroup, the biggest capped stock on HoSE, nudged up 0.1 percent, while VHM of its real estate subsidiary Vinhomes and HoSE’s third biggest cap, added 0.4 percent.

Six tickers kept their opening prices this session, three of them banks –HDB of private HDBank, TCB of private Techcombank and MBB of state-owned Military Bank.

In the opposite direction, EIB of private Eximbank topped losses with 1.7 percent. The ticker was the only one of all VN30 banking sector blue chips to have closed in the red this session.

It was followed by GAS of energy giant PetroVietnam Gas, down 1.5 percent, PNJ of jewelry retailer Phu Nhuan Jewelry, down 0.5 percent, and SSI of brokerage Saigon Securities Inc., with 0.3 percent.

Other losing stocks included VNM of dairy giant Vinamilk, and PLX of petroleum distributor Petrolimex, both having fallen 0.3 percent.

Meanwhile, the HNX-Index for stocks on Hanoi Stock Exchange rose 0.69 percent, while the UPCoM-Index for stocks on Unlisted Public Companies Market edged up 0.15 percent.

Foreign investors turned net buyers on all three bourses to the tune of VND275 billion ($11.77 million), with buying pressure mostly on VCB of Vietcombank and VHM of Vinhomes.