City shares gain as Ha Noi slides

The VN-Index had a negative trading week with sharp declines in three sessions. — VNS Photo Viet Thanh

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — Shares reversed losses in HCM City on Friday but continued to lose ground for a third straight day in Ha Noi.

On the HCM City Stock Exchange, the VN-Index gained 0.44 per cent to 493.93 points. Trading value increased slightly compared to the previous trading day to over VND1 trillion (US$47.1 million). Around 43.4 million shares were traded.

Among the 30 largest stocks on the bourse, only Kinh Do Confectionery (KDC) managing to advance in the morning session, but by the end of yesterday a third of the stocks closed in the green, seven lost value and 13 closed unchanged.

The VN30 rose more than 0.1 per cent to close at 544.88 points.

The VN-Index had a negative trading week with sharp declines in three sessions and two sessions rising slightly. The index had fallen below 490 points at times, signaling that selling pressure was still high, said an FPT Securities Company analyst in a report.

On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index fell another 0.3 per cent to 61.33 points. The HNX30, tracking the capital city's 30 leading stocks, also dropped 0.14 per cent, reaching 114.91 points.

Trading value and volume on the bourse were VND163.5 billion ($7.7 million) and 22.56 million shares, respectively. The figures rose nearly 20 per cent over Thursday's level.

Foreign transactions rebounded with a selling trend. Foreign investors were net sellers for three successive sessions with large-cap stocks falling out of favor, including Saigon Securities Inc (SSI), PetroVietnam Finance (PVF), private qeuity group Masan (MSN), Sai Gon – Ha Noi Bank (SHB) and Ocean Group (OGC). The total net value reached VND52 billion ($2.4 million).

The impact of blue chip groups on the market lessened yesterday, said FPT Securities analysts. "However, the pace of trades was low with a negative investment sentiment," they added, advocating investors to closely watch the movement of market liquidity and foreign traders. — VNS