Positive signs in COVID-19 prevention buoy VN-Index up

VN-Index rose approximately 9 points or 1.14 per cent to 789.6 points on April 17

Since early April when the local government declared social distancing across the country, the VN-Index recorded the only session of decline on April 10, while the rest of the 12 sessions until April 19 all closed in the green. The index regained 127 points in the first half of the month.

Ending the session on April 17, the VN-Index rose approximately 9 points or 1.14 per cent to 789.6 points. The index soared by 31.66 points during the last five sessions, signifying an added $4.8 billion of capitalisation.

Fuelling the rise was the renewal of a string of stocks. Accordingly, the stocks in the VN30 basket grew by nearly 40 points to 735 points. Sabeco (HSX: SAB) increased by 17.3 per cent to VND165,000 ($7.17) within a week, and by more than 48 per cent against its lowest price on March 24, which was VND111,500 ($4.85).

Retail stocks also had a strong streak as Mobile World (HSX: MWG) and FPT Digital Retail (HSX: FRT) hit their growth ceiling. In the first quarter of 2020, Phu Nhuan Jewelry JSC (HSX: PNJ) reached VND5 trillion ($217.4 million) in revenue, up 5 per cent on-year. However, its after-tax profit was VND411 billion ($17.87 million), slightly down 4 per cent. The gross margin during the timeline continued to remain at a high level – 21.7 per cent.

Since the beginning of the year, PNJ launched two new watch stores and closed two jewellery stores. To date, the firm has opened 350 jewellery stores and 27 watch stores.

According to SSI Research, PNJ may not suffer a large impact from the health crisis because the second and third quarters are usually off-season in the jewellery business. Moreover, this is a good time for the company to gain market share from smaller jewellery brands ailing from the outbreak.

The VN-Index hike also saw a triple-digit increase against January 22, with FLC Mining Investment & Asset Management (HSX: GAB) and Saigon-Hanoi Commercial Joint Stock Bank (HSX: SHB) producing growth of 276 and 183 per cent to reach VND145,000 ($6.30) and VND18,000 ($78.26 US cents).