Leaders in HCM City strike a gong to open the stock market after the Tet holiday at the HCM Stock Exchange. — Photo tintm.com
Shares were volatile yesterday as selling pressure increased after the VN-Index touched a new nine-year high last week.
The benchmark VN Index on the HCM Stock Exchange closed slightly over 700 points despite trading below the reference threshold for most of the session, down 0.04 per cent from Friday.
It was down 0.4 per cent on Friday after rallying 3 per cent over the previous five sessions and touching the nine-year high of 703.2 points last Thursday.
On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index inched down 0.1 per cent to end at 85 points. The northern market index gained 2.4 per cent over the last four sessions.
The overall market condition was rather neutral, with 227 stocks rising, 215 declining and 262 staying flat in the two markets. The impact of blue chips was mixed.
Profit-taking selling pressure gripped bank stocks with five of total nine listed lenders losing value, including big ones like Vietinbank (CTG), Military Bank (MBB), Sacombank (STB), Asia Commercial Bank (ACB) and Eximbank (EIB).
Two of the biggest banks by market value, Vietcombank (VCB) and BIDV (BID), managed to close unchanged, while only Sai Gon-Ha Noi Bank (SHB) climbed nearly 4.1 per cent.
“The bank group was the focus of the selling pressure and pushed these stocks down sharply,” analysts at Viet Nam Investment Securities Co (IVS) wrote in a market report yesterday.
Bank stocks have rallied since January and led the market upturn as investors bet on their big 2016 profits as well as high expectations on their return after a negative performance last year.
On the other end of spectrum, many large-cap stocks maintained rises and cushioned the market, including VinGroup (VIC), PV Gas (GAS), Sai Gon Securities Inc (SSI), steelmakers Hoa Phat Group (HPG) and Hoa Sen Group (HSG), private equity firm Masan Group (MSN) and PetroVietnam Drilling and Wells Service (PVD).
According to IVS analysts, despite yesterday’s slide, the market stayed positive as the VN-Index bounced back after falling below 700 points, and liquidity increased. “Most losses were mainly attributed to profit-taking selling. Shares will likely have ups and downs during this period,” they said. — VNS