Shares up for second day on stock market
Hanoi (VNA) – Shares advanced for a second day on the two national stock exchanges on
June 20 as investors increased their bets on bank stocks, given the positive
outlook seen for the industry.
The benchmark VN-Index inched up 0.15 percent to close at 767.99 points on the
HCM Stock Exchange. The southern market index rose nearly 1 percent in two
days.
On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index edged up 0.39 percent to end at
99.80. The northern market index expanded 1.5 percent in the two previous
sessions.
Bank stocks continued to attract money, with eight of nine listed banks gaining
value. Only Vietcombank (VCB) slipped 0.5 percent, other banks like Eximbank
(EIB), Sacombank (STB), Military Bank (MBB) and BIDV (BID) posted gains of
between 2.8 percent and 6.5 percent.
Speculation on bank shares was generated by reports that the National Assembly
is likely to approve the bad debt settlement resolution this week. The
resolution is expected to ease bottlenecks in bank debt restructuring and boost
overall performance of the banking sector.
Apart from banks, pharmaceutical shares also saw positive trading. Big drug
companies like DHG Pharmaceutical (DHG), Traphaco (TRA), Pharmedic
Pharmaceutical Medicinal (PMC), Ha Tay Pharmaceutical (DHT) and Domesco Medical
Import Export (DMC) rose by between 1-7.5 per cent.
The overall market trend was positive with 253 stocks picking up, 212 falling
and 234 closing unchanged.
Investment was mostly spurred by the possibility that MSCI will publish the
Frontier Market Index and Emerging Market Index on June 21.
If Vietnam is included in the Emerging Market waiting list or increases its
rank on the Frontier Market Index, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and other
international financial institutions may increase Vietnamese stock in their
portfolios, boosting their investments in the local market.
“Large-cap stocks will have a bigger chance of receiving foreign capital as
investment policy of most funds and financial institutions focuses on leading
large-cap stocks,” analysts at BIDV Securities Co wrote in a note.
Liquidity surged on June 20 with a total of 297 million shares worth a combined
5.53 trillion VND (243.6 million USD) being traded in the two markets, up 12
percent in volume and 8.4 percent in value compared to June 19’s figures.
Foreign traders continued to be net buyers in the two markets, picking shares
worth total net value of 67 billion VND. Their net buys reached 161 billion VND
in the last two days.
On the negative side, some blue chips slumped under rising profit-taking, like
Vinamilk (VNM), VinGroup (VIC), Bao Viet Holdings (BVH), Masan Group (MSN), PV
Gas (GAS) and FPT Corp (FPT).-VNA