Southern bourse stabilises after a rough week

The blue-chip stocks which strongly fell on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) last week largely gained today.

Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group (HAG), Masan Group (MSN) and Vinpearl JSC (VPL) hit the ceiling. Vincom Corp. (VIC) added 3.42 per cent, while Bao Viet Holding (BVH) up 2.01 per cent.

PetroVietnam Finance (PVF) and PetroVietnam Fertilisers (DPM) were among the gainers as well.

Half the southern bourse was up today with 150 stocks climbing, led by the strong gain of large-cap stocks. The VN-Index rose 7.17 points, or 1.56 per cent, to close at 468.25 points.

“Investors strongly bought in today on speculation that stocks [on HoSE] had been down enough. They were over-excited a little,” said an analyst.

Liquidity was off 34 per cent today to VND868 billion ($41.9 million), with trading volume hitting 41.79 million shares.

On the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX), investors largely sold out mid-cap and small-cap stocks in an effort to lock in profits gained last week. Trading volume push down to more than VND717 billion ($34.6 million).

The benchmark HNX-Index lost 0.37 points, or 0.39 per cent, to end at 94.84 points, despite the gain of half the bourse.

Kim Long Securities (KLS), Bao Viet Securities (BVS), Asia Commercial Bank (ACB) and Vinaconex (VCG) still ended higher.

However, the government’s announcement to further tighten its financial policy this morning, along with recently released consumer price index (CPI), is expected to soon push up the stock market. The first quarter’s CPI was posted at 6.1 per cent, while the government targeted to curb the index at 7 per cent early this year.

Foreign investors suddenly reduced their buying on the two bourses today. Foreigners’ buying volumes reached 2.12 million shares on the HoSE, down from 9.5 million shares in last session (Friday, March 18).

Their top favorite stocks Vietinbank (CTG) and Saigon Securities Inc. (SSI) started to decline today after climbing continuously last week.