A mixed bag on the Stock Market

The rise of the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, in fact, was strongly buoyed by the blue-chips Bao Viet Holding (BVH) and Masan Group (MSN) again.

BVH and MSN hit the ceiling today adding 4.29 points to the VN-Index, of which BVH hit the ceiling for the third straight session. Analysts said the two stocks’ unusual rise was wrongly reflecting the VN-Index’s movement.

At the close, the benchmark gained 2.27 points, or 0.46 per cent, to 497.43 points, even though it climbed over 500 points during the session. The HNX-Index had no support from blue chip stocks which shed 1.56 points, or 1.43 per cent, to finish on 107.46 points.

This movement was in accordance with analysts’ skeptical look previously, in which they said the market was in danger of experiencing a hike in consumer price index and high interest rates.

On the southern bourse, PetroVietnam Finance (PVF) added 4.72 per cent, PetroVietnam Fertilisers gained 2.13 per cent while Eximbank (EIB), Vietinbank (CTG), Vincom Corp. (VIC) and Hoang Anh Gia Lai group (HAG) all fell.

Asia Commercial Bank (ACB) fell 3.03 per cent while Sacombank (STB), Vietcombank (VCB) and Habubank (HBB) all ended flat.

Securities stocks largely gave back after securities companies released their business results which fell short of the target, among them Sai Gon Securities Inc. (SSI), Bao Viet Securities (BVS), Sacombank Securities (SBS) and Kim Long Securities.

On the southern bourse, 66 stocks went up while 152 went down and 66 remained unchanged. 15 hit the ceiling and 11 hit the floor. Liquidity remained mostly unchanged at 40.8 million shares worth VND1.07 trillion ($53.5 million).

Meanwhile, 76 stocks advanced, compared with 213 falling on HNX. Liquidity eased back to 29.19 million shares worth VND557 billion ($27.85 million).

Foreign investors bought 4.51 million units on HoSE today, focusing on KBC, PPC, REE, PVF and DPM. On HNX they were net buyers with 537,100 shares purchased and 274,700 sold out, in which PVS was the most commonly traded stock.