VN-Index up for third straight session

The Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), on which the VN-Index is based, saw a fairly balanced session with 209 tickers gaining and 201 losing. Total trading volume remained at above-average levels, reaching VND6.73 trillion ($290.71 million) this session.

Foreign investors, for the third straight session, were net sellers of HoSE stocks worth VND360 billion. Although analysts at finance portal Vietstock expect the benchmark index to hit 900-905 points by the end of the week, selling pressure from foreign investors could cause minor corrections, they said.

According to brokerage BVSC, the fisheries sector merits special attention in the near future, as exports and new orders have already increased, a month after the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) took effect.

Under the deal, Vietnam will eliminate 99 percent of its import duties over 10 years and the E.U. will do the same over seven years.

Although most tickers of major seafood exporters such as VHC of Vinh Hoan Corp., MPC of Minh Phu Seafood, FMC of Sao Ta Foods, and CMX of Camimex Group finished in the red this session, their movements in the past 30 days have all been positive.

The VN30-Index for the stock market’s 30 biggest caps this session added 0.13 percent, with 13 tickers rising and 15 falling.

Topping gains was STB of private Sacombank, up 2.7 percent, followed by VIC of private conglomerate Vingroup, up 2 percent, and POW of electricity generator PetroVietnam Power, with 1.5 percent.

Other major gainers included FPT of IT services group FPT, up 1.4 percent, GAS of energy giant PetroVietnam Gas, 1.3 percent, and VRE of mall operator Vincom Retail, up 1 percent.

Most tickers in Vietnam’s banking sector finished in the red. Of the country’s three biggest state-owned lenders, CTG of VietinBank lost 0.8 percent and VCB of Vietcombank dropped 0.6 percent while BID of BIDV climbed 0.6 percent. MBB of mid-sized Military Bank shed 0.3 percent.

In the private banking sector, HDB of HDBank and EIB of Eximbank topped losses on the VN30, down 1.2 percent each, followed by TCB of Techcombank, down 0.7 percent, and VPBank, 0.6 percent.

Other major losing stocks included VHM of real estate developer Vinhomes and REE of appliances maker Refrigeration Electrical Engineering, down 0.9 percent, and TCH of truck dealer Hoang Huy Group, with 0.7 percent.

The most net offloaded tickers by foreign investors were VHM of Vinhomes, VNM of dairy giant Vinamilk, which was up 0.5 percent, and HDB of HDBank.

Meanwhile, the HNX-Index for the Hanoi Stock Exchange, home to mid- and small-capped stocks, added 0.39 percent, and the UPCoM-Index for the Unlisted Public Companies Market rose 0.25 percent.