HCMC bourse sees improved liquidity in week-ending session

The trading value on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) increased by 28% on Friday from the previous session to nearly VND12.4 trillion ($529 million), a three-week record high.

More than 670 million shares changed hands, up 32.4% from Thursday’s level.

The HoSE’s improved liquidity was attributed to a sudden increase in put-through transactions of EIB shares of Eximbank, with VND3.4 trillion ($145 million) out of the bourse’s total VND4.5 trillion.

The VN-Index closed the week in green, expanding 3.78 points, or 0.36%, to 1,060.17. There were 215 stocks falling, 174 gaining and 176 going flat on the major bourse.

Money was poured into the financial-banking group with about VND3.4 trillion thanks to positive information about last year's business results. The cash flow also gradually shifted from real estate and consumer goods to industrial and material stocks to anticipate the wave of public investment this year.

VPB of VPBank took the lead in matched value with nearly VND490 billion ($20.9 million), followed by HPG of steel maker Hoa Phat, VND of VNDirect Securities, and STB of Sacombank.

While banking stocks were the main support for the VN-Index, NVL of Novaland had the most negative impact on the benchmark as it lost 4.3% to VND14,300.

Foreign investors were net sellers in the HCMC market after 14 net-buying sessions. They mainly sold EIB with a net value of VND3.4 trillion. Excluding EIB, foreigners were still net buyers to the tune of VND356 billion ($15.18 million).

The HNX-Index on the Hanoi bourse fell 0.68 points to 211.26, while the UpCOM-Index on the unlisted public company market was down 0.1 points to 72.09.