VN-Index surges on gains from banking stocks

The Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), on which the VN-Index is based, saw 332 tickers gain and 84 lose. Total trading volume rose to its highest level this month at VND6.65 trillion ($287.84 million).

Opening at 854.78 points, the benchmark index shot straight up to above 860 points within the first 15 minutes of trading, when At-The-Open (ATO) orders are executed.

An ATO is an investor's directive to his/her broker or brokerage firm to buy or sell a specific stock at the very beginning of the trading day. This type of order is typically placed based on an event that happened after the market closed on the previous trading day that is expected to affect the stock's opening price the following session.

According to Nguyen Huu Binh, former head analyst at brokerage IVS, news of Russia moving forward with its development of a Covid-19 vaccine, although nothing is certain at this point, was good enough to give investors an excuse to buy up shares.

Cash is expected to continue moving into equity markets if other investment channels, such as real estate, gold, and savings prove less attractive. Tickers in sectors such as industrial zones, building materials and retail, which have traditionally attracted investment, are expected to do well as long as they can show proof of income, said Nguyen Anh Khoa, head analyst at brokerage Agriseco.

Other than that, the market this week will likely continue last week’s trends due to an "information hiatus" until August’s macro-statistics are announced after the weekend, with cash flow diversified towards individual companies with good financials, he added.

The VN30-Index for the market’s 30 largest capped stocks this session shot up 2.03 percent, with 28 gainers and two that kept their opening prices.

Mid-sized banks, most of which are private, were the biggest winners this session. VPB of VPBank led gains with 5.9 percent, HDB of HDBank, 3.7 percent, MBB of state-owned Military Bank and TCB of Techcombank, both 2.9 percent, and STB of Sacombank, 2.3 percent.

VIC of private conglomerate Vingroup, HoSE’s biggest cap, surged 3.4 percent, contributing 2.9 points to the VN-Index’s rise this session, according to data from brokerage VNDIRECT. Meanwhile, VRE of Vingroup’s retail arm Vincom Retail added 1.5 percent, and VHM of its real estate arm Vinhomes rose 0.6 percent.

Other major gainers this session were PLX of petroleum distributor Petrolimex, up 4.2 percent, PNJ of jewelry retailer Phu Nhuan Jewelry, up 4.1 percent, MWG of electronics retailer Mobile World, up 2.6 percent, and FPT of IT services firm FPT, up 2.2 percent.

Vietnam’s three biggest state-owned lenders by assets, BID of BIDV, VCB of Vietcombank, and CTG of VietinBank, gained 1.8 percent, 1.2 percent, and 0.4 percent respectively.

The real estate sector had the most modest gains this session, with TCH of Hoang Huy Group, ROS of FLC Faros, and KDH of Khang Dien House all gaining1 percent or less, while NVL of Novaland kept its opening price.

Meanwhile, the HNX-Index for the Hanoi Stock Exchange, home to mid- and smaller-caps, rose 0.42 percent, and the UPCoM-Index for the Unlisted Public Companies Market climbed 1.03 percent.

Foreign investors were net sellers to the tune of VND410 billion ($17.74 million) on all three bourses this session, with selling pressure mostly on VNM of dairy giant Vinamilk and HPG of Hoa Phat Group, which rose 0.8 percent and 1.8 percent respectively.