VN-Index rises on FPT, Sacombank gains

The index fluctuated in the 1,150 range in the morning but strong buying demand in the afternoon pushed it up by nearly 9 points.

Trading value on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), on which the index is based, rose 2.7 percent to VND21.59 trillion ($938 million). The bourse saw 183 tickers gain and 235 lose.

The VN30-Index, which tracks the 30 largest capped stocks, saw growth doubling that of the main benchmark at 1.68 percent.

It was led by FPT of IT giant FPT Corporation, gaining 4.4 percent to a new peak. This is its fourth consecutive session in the green, having risen by 54 percent this year.

It was followed by STB of Ho Chi Minh City-based lender Sacombank, also up 4.4 percent to a new peak. It has gained 67 percent this year.

HPG of steelmaker Hoa Phat Group rose 4.3 percent to a new peak, its third session in the green. The ticker was the top contributor to VN-Index’s gain this session, pushing it up by 2.38 points.

Other bank gainers included MBB of Military Bank and TCB of the largest private lender Techcombank, both up 3.6 percent, along with CTG of state-owned lender VietinBank, up 3.1 percent.

On the losing side, VJC of budget airline Vietjet fell 2.7 percent, while POW of electricity producer Petrovietnam Power Corporation dropped 2.5 percent.

Foreign investors were net sellers for the seventh consecutive session but with the lowest value at VND240 billion. Strongest pressure was seen on VPB of private lender VPBank, VNM of dairy giant Vinamilk and NVL of real estate developer Novaland Group.