Vietnam stock market slides to two-week low

At the end of the Monday session, the VN-Index, which represents stocks on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), fell by 6.66 points, down 0.7 percent compared to Friday last week. 114 stocks gained, while 187 lost value.

Of the top 10 listed companies with the biggest market cap on the VN-Index, only the CTG stock of state-owned VietinBank, one of the country’s three biggest lenders, closed up compared to last session, but by just 0.74 percent.

In contrast, the trio of stocks related to Vingroup, Vietnam’s biggest private conglomerate, which are all in the top 10, fell heavily in the session.

The VIC stock of parent corporation Vingroup fell 0.87 percent, while VHM of Vinhomes, its real estate arm, fell 2.37 percent; and VRE of Vincom Retail, the group’s retail arm, fell 2.58 percent. VHM and VRE were the biggest losing blue-chips on the market this session.

In the VN30-Index, the index for the 30 highest market cap companies on Vietnam’s exchanges, an additional 11 companies (not counting the top 10) saw their share prices drop by over 1 percent.

The Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX), which accounts for around 10 percent of market cap across all floors, fell in the morning session but managed to pull back in the afternoon, slightly rising by 0.04 percent to 103.5 points with 52 gainers and 82 losers.

On both floors, oil and gas stocks were the group that rose despite gloomy sentiments, with stocks connected to the state-owned PetroVietnam rising significantly.

The PVS stock of PetroVietnam Technical Services Corporation rose 0.9 percent, PVC of PetroVietnam Drilling, up 1.4 percent, PET of the group’s general services arm, up 0.78 percent, and POW of PetroVietnam Power Corporation, up 2.2 percent.

Going against market sentiment, foreign investors were optimistic this session. After three net selling sessions in a row, foreign investors returned on Monday with a net buy of 1.93 million shares, equivalent to VND103.25 billion ($4.46 million).

In terms of net buys this session, foreign investors were most keen to get their hands on the VNM stock of Vinamilk, POW of PetroVietnam Power Corporation, and BVH of Bao Viet Holdings, a leading insurance provider.