Shares were mixed on Wednesday on the two national stock exchanges due to a lack of supportive information and the risk of volatility on world markets.

 

On the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange, the VN-Index inched down 0.05 per cent to close the day at 971.54 points. Meanwhile, the HNX-Index on the Hà Nội Stock Exchange edged up 0.28 per cent to end at 105.32 points.

 

Both stock indices declined on Tuesday.

 

The market witnessed strong declines among leading stocks in the oil and gas, banking, rubber and seafood groups towards the end of the session.

 

Except for PV Gas (GAS), which maintained a modest increase of 0.7 per cent, oil and gas companies including PetroVietnam Drilling and Wells Service (PVD), PetroVietnam Technical Service (PVS) and PetroVietnam Coating (PVB) lost 1-3 per cent each.

 

Among banks, seven of 13 listed lenders declined, including the biggest ones such as Techcombank (TCB), Vietinbank (CTG), Bank for Investment and Development of Việt Nam (BID) and VPBank (VPB).

 

Only five banks gained. Vietcombank (VCB) inched up 0.2 per cent, while Asia Commercial Bank (ACB), Hồ Chí Minh Development Bank (HDB), Tiên Phong Bank (TPB) and Nam Việt Bank (NVB) gained between 0.2 per cent and 1.3 per cent each.

 

For rubber and seafood shares, the biggest losers included Seafood JSC No 4 (TS4), down 7 per cent, and Phước Hòa Rubber (PHR) and Sao Vàng Rubber (SRC), both down more than 6 per cent.

 

On the other side, some heavyweight stocks increased and cushioned the market such as Vingroup (VIC), PetroVietnam Fertiliser & Chemicals (DPM), steelmaker Hòa Phát Group (HPG) and property developer Novaland Investment (NVL), each rising by more than 1 per cent.

 

“The market strongly diverged," said Trần Xuân Bách, a stock analyst at Bảo Việt Securities Co, in the company's daily report. "The cashflow is expected to rotate among textiles, real estate, industrial parks, information technology and electricity."

 

Despite fluctuations, he said he expected the VN-Index to rally and accumulate between 960-965 points and 988-993 points in the short run.

 

According to BIDV Securities Co, low liquidity indicated that market sentiment remained weak due to the lack of supportive information and risks of fluctuations in world markets.  

 

A total of 172 million shares worth more than VNĐ3.74 trillion (US$160.4 million) were traded on the two markets, slightly lower than on Tuesday.

 

Foreign investors ended Wednesday as net buyers, picking up shares worth a net value of VNĐ140 billion on the two exchanges. — VNS