Bourse: HCM City shares up 2nd consecutive day

Hanoi (VNA) - Shares rose for a second day on the HCM Stock Exchange on December 8, propped up by recovery of large-cap shares, while continuous foreign sells keep threatening market stability.

The VN-Index, a measure of 320 stocks on the southern bourse, was up 0.8 percent to close at 658.9 points. The gauge was up 0.3 percent on December 7.

But the HNX-Index, measuring 375 stocks on the Hanoi Stock Exchange, erased the gain made on December 7, inching down 0.1 percent to 79.4 points.

Large-cap stocks were on the positive side.

The largest listed stock Vinamilk (VNM) recouped 2 percent on the day despite heavy selling by foreign traders, settling at 135,000 VND (5.95 USD) per share. VNM lost 2 percent in the last two sessions.

Other gainers included Sacombank (STB), which hit the daily limit of 7 percent rise on the HCM City market, Vietcombank (VCB), BIDV (BID), Masan Group (MSN), steelmakers Hoa Phat Group (HPG) and Hoa Sen Group (HSG), Sai Gon Securities Inc (SSI), software producer FPT Corp (FPT) and Mobile World Group (MWG).

Newly-listed brewery giant Sabeco (SAB) added another 7 percent in price to close at 151,000 VND per share. SAB price has increased 37 percent since its debut on December 6.

Continuous sells by foreign investors, meanwhile, continued to pose a threat to the market prospect.
Foreign investors were net sellers on the HCM City’s exchange yesterday, offloading shares for a net value of 193 billion VND (8.6 million USD). This is their sixth consecutive net selling day with a total value of 811 billion VND.

However, there were net buyers for a third day on the Hanoi market, picking up shares worth a small value of 6 billion VND.

Liquidity decreased with nearly 175 million shares worth a combined 2.8 trillion VND (123.7 million USD) traded in the two markets, down 5.9 percent in volume and 15.2 percent in value compared to  levels made on December 7.-VNA