Investors at the MBS exchange floor in Hanoi.(Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - Shares sank for a second day on the two exchanges, following investor fear of a market correction.
The benchmark VN-Index on the Ho Chhi Minh Stock Exchange edged down 0.2 percent to close at 709.5 points, expanding the two-day loss to 1.1 percent.
On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index decreased 0.3 percent to end at 86.6 points. The northern index inched down 0.04 percent on the previous day.
Investors continued to stay away from large-cap stocks. Seventeen of the 30 largest shares by market value and liquidity in HCM City slumped, while only eight advanced.
Insurance and bank stocks were among the biggest losers: large firms such as Bao Viet Holdings (BVH), BIDV Insurance (BIC), PVI Holdings (PVI) and lenders BIDV (BID), Vietinbank (CTG), Military Bank (MBB), Vietcombank (VCB) and Sacombank (STB) declined between 0.5 percent and 1.9 percent.
Insurance and bank stocks saw average decreases of 1.51 percent and 0.72 percent, respectively.
“The market seems to have lost its growing momentum since the VN-Index exceeded 710 points,” stock analysts at Vietnam Investment Securities Co wrote in their March 1’s report.
Blue chips and large-cap stocks treaded water; only small caps maintained the market uptrend, the report said.
On the bright side, several stocks advanced thanks to positive information.
Hoa Phat Group (HPG) climbed 2.3 percent following the announcement that the company plans to adjust its profit target up 20 percent to 6 trillion VND in 2017.
Budget airline Vietjet hit the daily limit rise of 7 percent after its debut on March 1, settling at 115,500 VND (5.07 USD) a share.
Liquidity improved with a total of 277.2 million shares worth a combined 4.1 trillion VND (180 million USD) being traded in the two markets, up 12 percent in volume and 8 percent in value compared to the previous session.
Foreign investors were net sellers in HCM City’s market for a tiny value of 1.2 billion VND, but they extended their net buying streak to six consecutive sessions on the Hanoi’s exchange with a net value of 6.4 billion VND.
Vinamilk (VNM) continued to top their top buy list with a net value of 40.3 billion VND, following FLC Faros Construction Corp (ROS) with nearly 30 billion VND. – VNA
