Economic worries drag VN stocks for a 3rd day

The benchmark VN-Index on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange dropped for a third straight day, losing 0.73 per cent to end Tuesday at 927.93 points.

More than 187.7 million shares were traded on the southern bourse, worth nearly VND3.55 trillion (US$152.7 million).

That included more than 164.3 million shares transferred via order-matching deals, worth VND2.73 trillion.

Market sentiment worsened as investors worried about the slow recovery of manufacturing activity in Asia, led by China, according to MB Securities Co (MBS).

Concerns were raised following tech giant Apple’s negative quarterly earnings forecast, which may hamper the recovery of the regional industry and manufacturing activities.

In addition, worries about further negative developments due to the coronavirus clouded market sentiment.

On the Vietnamese stock market, investors remained cautious amid these concerns, MBS said in its daily report.

Large-cap companies continued to hold back the market. The large-cap tracker VN30-Index shed 0.53 per cent.

Sixteen of the 30 largest stocks by market value and trading liquidity declined.

Those losers included FLC Faros Construction (ROS), brewer Sabeco (SAB), property firms Vingroup (VIC) and Vincom Retail (VRE), steel maker Hoa Phat (HPG) and dairy company Vinamilk (VNM).

The 16 declining large-caps lost between 0.3 per cent and 6.9 per cent.

Real estate, energy and mining, food and beverage, building materials, and transportation and logistics also underperformed on Tuesday, according to vietstock.vn.

Positive gains were seen in the technology, banking, retail, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, and seafood processing industries.

One positive thing was investors sought opportunities in mid-cap and small-cap items instead of selling large-caps and running away from the market, MBS said.

The mid-cap and small-cap tracking VNMID-Index and VNSML-Index rose 0.14 per cent and 0.39 per cent on Tuesday.

MBS forecast the VN-Index would continue struggling between 900 points and 920 points.

On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index was up 0.46 per cent to end at 110.07 points.

The northern market index slid 0.16 per cent on Monday.

More than 44 million shares were traded on the Ha Noi stock market, worth nearly VND870 billion.