Vietnam stocks edge higher amid Asian markets fall

The index closed 0.54 points higher after dropping 5.30 points in the previous session.

Trading on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange decreased by 12% to VND16.20 trillion (US$653 million).

The VN-30 basket, comprising the 30 largest capped stocks, saw 11 tickers gained.

VIC of private conglomerate Vingroup led with a 7% gain, followed by VHM of property giant Vinhomes up 2.2%.

PLX of fuel distributor Petrolimex rose 1.1% and VRE of retail real estate arm Vincom Retail gained 1% higher.

Fourteen blue chips fell. SSB of SeABank declined by 2.3% and SSI of brokerage SSI Securities Corporation fell 1.6% lower.

Foreign investors were net sellers to the tune of VND256 billion, mainly selling TLG of office stationary maker Thien Long Group and HPG of steelmaker Hoa Phat Group.

The HNX-Index for stocks on the Hanoi Stock Exchange, home to mid and small caps, fell 0.03%, while the UPCoM-Index for the Unlisted Public Companies Market went down 0.02%.

Asian stocks fell on Tuesday as investors pondered looming U.S. interest rate cuts and awaited earnings from AI darling Nvidia, while rising tensions in the Middle East and supply concerns checked risk sentiment and propped up oil prices, Reuters reported.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was 0.48% lower on Tuesday, inching away from the one-month high it touched in the previous session.

China's blue stock index CSI300 fell 0.61% while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was 0.27% lower, dragged by lacklustre earnings from Temu-parent PDD Holdings due to lower consumer spending.