Vietnam shares volatile, investors cautious

Shares edged higher on the two exchanges but the overall market condition was negative. (Photo: doanhnhansaigon.vn)

Hanoi (VNA) - Shares edged higher on November 1 on the two exchanges but the overall market condition was negative as investors turned cautious ahead of the November US Federal Reserve meeting and presidential elections. 

The benchmark VN-Index, the measure of 314 stocks on the HCM Stock Exchange, inched up 0.1 percent at 676.6 points despite being below the reference threshold for most of the trading day. The Index was down 1 percent on the previous day. 

On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index tracking 379 stocks also increased 0.1 percent to 82.3 points. It dropped 1 percent on October 31. 

"The market is moving sideways with ups and downs in a narrow band. Cautious sentiment dominates the market with awaited information about the meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee in November, the US presidential elections, as well as a new move by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in cutting production," Tran Duc Anh, stock analyst at Bao Viet Securities Co, wrote in a report. 

Oil prices rose yesterday in Asian trading after the OPEC agreed on a long-term strategy. The price of black gold has risen 13 percent since OPEC announced a production cut to support prices on October 27. However, the market is still weighed down by record output from the group. 

Large-cap stocks were mixed: 17 of the top 30 shares by market capitalisation still lost value, including Masan Group (MSN), Vietinbank (CTG), Sacombank (STB), PetroVietnam Drillings and Wells Service (PVD), software producer FPT Corp (FPT) and steelmaker Hoa Phat Group (HPG). 

Some recovered from losses on October 31, contributing to the rally of the VN-Index, such as real estate giant VinGroup (VIC), lender BIDV (BID) and insurer Bao Viet Holdings (BVH). 

Liquidity decreased with 154.7 million shares worth a combined 2.2 trillion VND (98.7 million USD) traded in the two markets, down 7.9 percent in volume and 15.4 percent in value compared to the October 31 levels. 

Foreign investors extended their net buys to three days in a row on the HCM City exchange with a value of 11.5 billion VND, but they remained net sellers in the Hanoi market, offloading shares worth a net sell value of 1.8 billion VND.-VNA