VN-Index up for third straight session

The VN-Index had slumped around three points from its 845.92-point opening price within the first 30 minutes of trading, but rose sharply immediately afterwards to 849, before rising gradually for the rest of the day.

183 stocks gained while 175 lost on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), on which the VN-Index is based. Total trading volume fell back to VND4.38 trillion ($187.71 million), slightly above April’s average liquidity, after having spiked at above VND8 trillion ($342.88 million) the previous session.  

The VN30-Index for the stock market’s 30 largest caps added 0.5 percent, with 16 tickers gaining and 11 losing.

ROS of real estate developer FLC Faros topped gains with 6.8 percent, its ceiling price. ROS is one of the VN30’s most volatile stocks, fluctuating from floor to ceiling in over half of its trading sessions, partly due to it being the smallest capped stock in the basket.

VRE of mall operator Vincom Retail and VHM of real estate developer Vinhomes followed, surging 6.6 percent and 5.3 percent respectively. Their parent corporation, VIC of private conglomerate Vinhomes and HOSE’s biggest cap, edged up 0.1 percent.

The other major gainers were a mixed bag. STB of private Sacombank surged 5.1 percent, CTD of real estate developer Coteccons rose 2.5 percent, while BVH of insurance giant Bao Viet Group added 1.9 percent.  

Food and beverage stocks were positive performers. MSN of food conglomerate Masan Group added 1.3 percent, VNM of dairy giant Vinamilk, 1.2 percent, and SAB of major brewer Sabeco rose 0.3 percent.

Of Vietnam’s three biggest state-owned lenders by assets, VCB of Vietcombank rose 0.8 percent, BID of BIDV added 0.1 percent, while CTG of Vietinbank kept its opening price.

In the opposite direction, VPB of private VPBank and TCB of private Techcombank were the biggest losers, having shed 1.6 percent and 1.2 percent respectively.

VJC of budget carrier VietJet Air, MWG of electronics retailer Mobile World, and GAS of energy giant PetroVietnam Gas followed with losses of 1 percent, 0.8 percent, and 0.8 percent respectively.

Among the losers were two more stocks of mid-sized banks. MBB of state-owned Military bank dropped 0.6 percent, and HDB of private HDBank lost 0.4 percent.

Foreign investors were net buyers on HoSE to the tune of VND120 billion ($5.14 million), with buying pressure mostly on VHM of Vinhomes and the E1VFVN30, an exchange-traded-fund which imitates the composition, and in turn the performance of the VN30.

Meanwhile, the HNX-Index for stocks on Hanoi Stock Exchange, home to mid and small caps, plunged 1.74 percent this session, while the UPCoM-Index for stocks on Unlisted Public Companies Market added 0.39 percent.

Given that the VN-Index has hit a five-week peak, many securities companies remained optimistic that there was room for further recovery this week, allowing the VN-Index could hit 880 points.

However, the market’s biggest caps, which are banks, oil and gas stocks, and companies related to Vingroup, have not published positive business prospects for the near future, which makes it difficult for the VN-Index to rise much above this point, analysts say.