Stocks hover at 5-week low

The index closed 0.6 points higher after dropping 8.2 points in the previous session.

Trading on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange decreased by 4% to VND13.19 trillion (US$519 million).

The VN-30 basket, comprising the 30 largest capped stocks, saw 13 tickers gained.

BID of state-owned lender BIDV led with a 4.1% rise, followed by BCM of Becamex Investment and Industrial Development, up 3.3%.

MBB of lender MB gained 2.1% and STB of Ho Chi Minh City-based lender Sacombank rose 1.8%.

Fourteen blue chips fell. GVR of Vietnam Rubber Group dropped 3.7% and SSI of brokerage SSI Securities Corporation declined by 1.4%.

Foreign investors were net sellers to the tune of VND91 billion, mainly selling VNM of dairy giant Vinamilk and NLG of real estate developer Nam Long Investment Corp.

The HNX-Index for stocks on the Hanoi Stock Exchange, home to mid and small caps, fell 0.88%, while the UPCoM-Index for the Unlisted Public Companies Market went down 0.65%.

Asia's shares followed Wall Street's positive lead on Tuesday as some investors hoped U.S. President-elect Donald Trump would adopt less aggressive tariffs than previously thought when he takes office, Reuters reported.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.03%, while Japan's Nikkei jumped 2%, boosted by a rally in technology stocks.

Stocks in Europe, however, looked set for a negative start after Monday's gain.