Foreign investors net sell Vietnamese stocks for 7 straight weeks

Foreign investors were net sellers on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) to the tune of VND2,692 billion ($111 million) in the December 18-22 week.

This marked their seventh consecutive week of net-selling, exchange data showed.

During the week, the VN-Index, which represents the HoSE, had only one losing session. However, it hovered around the 1,100-point territory throughout as trading remained gloomy.

At the end of the week, the VN-Index had increased just 0.07% from the previous week to 1,103.06 points. The HNX-Index on the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX) saw more positive developments, closing at 228.27 points, up 0.55% week-on-week.

BID of BIDV bank, GVR of Vietnam Rubber Group and STB of Sacombank had the most positive impact on the VN-Index, contributing more than 1.5 points. Meanwhile, MSN of Masan Group, HPG of steel giant Hoa Phat Group and SAB of brewer Sabeco were the most negative influencers. HPG alone took away more than 0.2 points from the index.

Trading value on both exchanges reached VND70,938 billion ($2.93 billion), a sharp decrease of 17.8% compared to the previous week. Of this, HoSE’s turnover was VND64,247 billion ($2.65 billion), down 17.1% week-on-week and that of the HNX was VND6,690 billion ($257.9 million), down 23.7%.

Foreign investors continued to net sell stocks on the HoSE for the seventh consecutive week, focusing on banking, steel, finance-securities and real estate groups. In total, they net sold nearly VND11 trillion ($453.6 million) on the major bourse during 18 sessions.

Blue chips saw a divergence. Gainers included BID of BIDV bank (+2.29%), ACB of Asia Commercial Bank (+1.98%), MBB of MBBank (+1.39%), VHM of Vinhomes (+1%), MWG of Mobile World Investment Corp. (+3.93%), and VRE of Vincom Retail (+1.77%).

Losers were FPT of FPT Corp. (-1.66%), VCB of Vietcombank (-1.58%), VPB of VPBank (-2.94%), SAB of brewer Sabeco (-2.07%), and VIC of Vingroup (-1.26%).

Although the securities stocks were under selling pressure from foreign investors, some gained after they announced plans to issue shares to increase capital, like: SSI of Saigon Securities, up 1.73%; HCM of Ho Chi Minh City Securities, up 1.73%; BSI of BIDV Securities, up 2.43%; FTS of FPT Securities, up 3.53%; VIX of VIX Securities, up 1.21%; and VCI of Viet Capital Securities, up 1.23%.

Tickers of agricultural firms performed impressively with HAG of Hoang Anh Gia Lai Corp. rising 3.45%, HNG of Hoang Anh Gia Lai Agricultural JSC 13.26%, and DBC of Dabaco Group 3.15%.

Top broker Saigon-Hanoi Securities (SHS) believes that in the short term, the market will see continued tight accumulation in the area of 1,100-1,150 points. In the medium and long term, the VN-Index will accumulate in the range of 1,150-1,250 points.

SHS recommends that short-term investors maintain a low proportion of stocks in their portfolio and keep a close watch on market developments. Its analysts say that medium and long-term investors can consider buying stocks during correction sessions, focusing on leading tickers with good fundamentals and stable growth potential that are moving in the current accumulation state.

Another broker, Vietcombank Securities (VCBS), believes that the VN-Index will continue its recovery trend in the near future. Investors should stay steadfast during shaky sessions and do not need to lower their stock proportion at present, it advises. However, they can consider restructuring the portfolio, increasing the proportion of or purchasing stocks that are in their support zone or showing signs of surpassing their peak.