Steel stocks rally, VN-Index extends gaining streak

Vietnam's benchmark VN-Index rose 10.52 points, or 0.85%, to close at 1,245.5 on Wednesday thanks to a rally among steel stocks, marking its sixth straight gaining session.

The Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), represented by the index, saw 356 gainers and 145 losers. Its trading value increased by 2.74% from the previous session to VND25.24 trillion ($1.05 billion). The cash flow mainly ran into the finance, real estate, industry, and materials groups.

Blue chips were the main support for the VN-Index as the VN30-Index surged 15.39 points to 1,260.03, with 22 tickers rising. Among the big gainers were HPG of steel giant Hoa Phat Group, up 4.3%; VPB of VPBank, up 3.8%; FPT of IT giant FPT Corporation, up 2.3%; and GAS of PV Gas, up 1.9%.

Four blue chips fell, including VIC of private conglomerate Vingroup with a 1.1% decline.

Steel stocks became the focus of attention, with all rallying following the start of construction on the passenger terminal of Long Thanh International Airport in the southern province of Dong Nai. At the groundbreaking ceremony, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh assigned relevant units to work hard to complete the project on schedule.

In addition to HPG, which recorded the highest trading value on the HoSE with VND1.5 trillion ($62.3 million), HSG of Hoa Sen Group, NKG of Nam Kim Steel Corporation, and VGS of Vietnam-Germany Steel Pipe JSC hit their ceiling prices.

Foreign investors were net sellers on the HoSE to the tune of VND102.16 billion ($4.25 million). They mainly net sold HDG of Ha Do Group, SSI of Saigon Securities, STB of Sacombank, and HPG.

The HNX-Index on the Hanoi Stock Exchange, where mid and small caps list, expanded 1.22% to 255.36 points, while the UPCoM-Index on the Unlisted Public Companies Market inched up 0.29% to 94.56.