Stocks mixed, market quiet pre-NYE

Hanoi (VNA) - Shares were mixed on the two local exchanges on December 26 while investor confidence remained low ahead of the year-end holiday.

The benchmark VN Index on the HCM Stock Exchange was down 0.3 percent to close at 662.45 points.

Large-cap stocks continued to pull the market down with 14 of the 30 largest companies by capitalisation suffering losses.

Those decliners included dairy producer Vinamilk (VNM), PetroVietnam Gas Corp (GAS), property and retail corporation Vingroup (VIC) and Vietinbank (CTG).

VNM fell 1.2 percent, GAS dropped 1.5 percent, VIC inched down 0.2 percent and CTG edged down 0.3 percent.

Nearly 115 million shares were traded on December 26, worth 2.88 trillion VND (128.3 million USD), up 1.8 percent in volume and 24.8 percent in value compared to last week’s daily average numbers.

Such an improvement was attributed to the increase of put-through trading orders. More than 47.6 million shares were exchanged via this method, worth 1.48 trillion VND.

Foreign investors recorded a net sell value of 320 billion VND, putting more pressure on local stocks and domestic investors’ sentiment.

On the opposite side, steelmakers became attractive to investors on expectations for tightened policies on imported steel products in order to protect the local industry.

That information boosted demand for steel companies’ shares on the day, including Hoa Phat Group (HPG), Hoa Sen Group (HSG) and Vietnam-Germany Steel Pipe JSC (VGS).

Those stocks advanced 2 percent, 1 percent and 3.7 percent, respectively.

Unlike the southern market, the HNX Index on the Hanoi Stock Exchange rose 0.2 percent to end at 79.25 points, ending a two-day loss of 1.5 percent.

The northern market index was lifted by Asia Commercial Bank (ACB), VNDirect Securities Corp (VND) and Vietnam Construction and Import-Export JSC (VCG).

ACB rose 2.9 percent, VND moved up 0.8 percent and VCG increased by 0.7 percent.

More than 30.7 million shares were exchanged on the northern bourse, worth 321 billion VND.

“The stock market will likely be quiet this week as investors may stand by until the New Year begins,” Bao Viet Securities Corp (BVSC) said in a note.

“Supporting information may appear after the New Year holiday when new macroeconomic targets are announced and listed companies begin to report their earnings.”-VNA