VN-Index inches closer to 1,200 threshold

Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - The market settled higher on July 20 as concerns about the country’s inflation eased, boosting investors' sentiment. 

On the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), the VN-Index inched closer to the threshold of 1,200 points. Of which, the market benchmark ended the trading day at 1,194.14 points, a gain of 15.81 points, or 1.34%. 

During the session, the market’s breadth remained in the positive zone, with 374 stocks increasing, while 87 stocks declined.

Liquidity improved compared to the previous session. Accordingly, the total matching value on the market was 15.4 trillion VND (657.6 million USD), up 33%, of which the matching value on HoSE alone rose 34% to over 12.9 trillion VND.

The 30 biggest stock tracker VN30-Index also jumped 13.92 points, or 1.15%, to 1,225.62 points. In the VN30 basket, 28 stocks climbed, while only one slid and one stayed unchanged. 

The HNX-Index on the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX) also finished higher on Wednesday, up 4.44 points, or 1.56%, to 288.87 points. 

On the northern bourse, nearly 88.2 million shares were traded, worth 1.69 trillion VND. 

The rally trend gathered strength since the market opened, with many ticker symbols reporting strong performance. 

The market sentiment was boosted after economists stressed that the country’s inflation is under control and its monetary policies will not be under the influence of major central banks’ rate hikes. 

Bank stocks returned to the market’s leading role, with Vietcombank (VCB) posting the biggest gain of 1.68% in market capitalisation. Other bank stocks contributing to the tendency were BIDV (BID), Vietinbank (CTG), Tienphong Bank (TPB), Vietnam International Commercial Joint Stock Bank (VIB), and MBBank (MBB). These stocks were up at least 1.4% on the day. 

Supporting the uptrend, stocks in manufacturing, energy, real estate, retail and information technology (IT) also posted strong growth. For example, Vinhomes (VHM), Hoa Binh Construction Group JSC (HBC), Vietnam Rubber Group (GVR), Sabeco (SAB), PV Gas (GAS), FPT Corporation (FPT) and Mobile World Investment Corporation (MWG) edged up in a range of 1-7%, with HBC hitting biggest daily gain of 7%. 

Meanwhile, foreign investors also returned to the market as they net bought billions on both main exchanges. Of which, they net bought a value of 194.35 billion VND on HoSE and VNĐ2.65 billion on HNX./.