VN-Index goes sideways amid low liquidity

Vietnam’s benchmark VN-Index fell 0.05% to 1,287.98 on Friday, with low liquidity of under VND13,000 billion ($560.6 million) on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HoSE).

The market opened the Friday session in the red due to a strong selling force from large-cap stocks. However, the buying force gradually appeared, pulling VN-Index close to the reference mark and swinging in a narrow range during the morning session.

The index retreated to 1,276 points in the afternoon but rapidly jumped back to 1,292 points, the high attained at the start of the morning session. However, the bullish momentum did not last long, as renewed selling pressure dragged the index below the reference level.

Seventeen stocks in the VN30 basket, comprised of the 30 largest stocks by market cap and liquidity on the HoSE, were in the red. This was led by GVR (Vietnam Rubber Group) with a margin of 3.1%, followed by other losers like HDB, VCB, STB, and CTG.

In the opposite direction, GAS (PV GAS) was the largest gainer with a margin of 4.46% among 10 rising stocks.

VN30-Index closed the session at 1,327.4, up 1.91 points. Liquidity reached VND4,811 billion ($207.5 million), accounting for 37.2% of HoSE liquidity.

VN-Index closed Friday at 1,287.98, down 0.64 points, with 290 losing and 149 gaining. HNX-Index fell by 1.3 points (0.42%) to 310.48, while UpCoM-Index dropped by 0.15 points (0.16%) to 94.17.

On the three exchanges, 624 stocks were losers and 337 gainers, with total liquidity reaching VND16,159 billion ($697 million), down 18.4% from the Thursday session.

The overwhelming red expanded its coverage to several groups of stocks like securities, banking, and real estate.

Meanwhile, seafood reversed to sharp increases in the afternoon, with VHC (Vinh Hoan Corporation) rising by 3.62%, and other gaining stocks like ANV, FMC, CMX, IDI, and ACL.

Steel rebounded positively after a string of declines, with the green expanding to numerous stocks like HPG, HSG, NKG, BVG, KKC, KMT, and SMC.

The market was also supported by many leading stocks like GAS (PV Gas), MWG (Mobile World), and FPT (FPT Group) which increased by 4.46%, 3.7%, and 2.2%, respectively.

Foreign investors remained net buyers to the tune of nearly VND183 billion ($7.89 million) on the HoSE, focusing on FPT (FPT Corporation), HPG (Hoa Phat Group), and MSN (Masan Group).