Blue-chips power southern market

Bullion hit a fresh record of more than VND41 million per tael this morning, driven by strong demand of the people expecting the metal to continue rising.

The VN-Index  still gained 4.83 points or 1.22 per cent, helped by Bao Viet Holdings (BVH), Masan Group (MSN) hitting the ceiling and Vincom Corp. (VIC) adding 4 per cent. The benchmark closed at 400.88 points.

Gainers amounts significantly reduced from yesterday’s dramatic rise. Just 86 stocks ended higher on the southern bourse, while 120 were off and 95 unchanged.

Blue-chips Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAG), Hoa Phat Group (HPG), Kinh Do Corp. (KDC) and Vinamilk (VNM) posted strong business results and slightly added.

Some speculative stocks including Licogi 16 (LCG), Sacom Development and Investment Corp. (SAM) and Investment and Trading of Real Estate JSC (ITC) also retained rose.

Meanwhile, other major stocks like Saigon Securities Inc. (SSI), PetroVietnam Finance (PVF), Vietcombank (VCB), Ho Chi Minh City Infrastructure Investment JSC (CII) and Refrigeration Electrical Engineering Corp. (REE) largely eased back.

Song Da Urban & Industrial Zone Investment and Development JSC (SJS) significantly fell. Mid and small-caps largely ended lower.

Sacombank (STB) was unchanged, after being traded at great huge volume of more than 80 million shares yesterday. The stocks still strongly outperformed the market today, followed by SSI and CII.

Matching volumes reached 20 million shares worth VND330 billion ($16.1 million) today. Total volume stood at 26.8 million shares, worth VND435 billion ($21.2 million).

In contrast, the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX) shed 0.29 points or 0.42 per cent to 68.54 points.

Put-through volumes also kept high on the bourse with 11.2 million shares worth VND63 billion ($3 million) changing hands, among them more than nine million Phuong Dong Petroleum Tourism JSC (PDC) shares. Total volume hit 38.6 million units worth VND38.6 billion ($1.9 million).

Advancers still outran the decliners 123 to 104, with several securities company shares and major financial shares continued to rise.