VN-Index drops as Ukraine tension jolts global markets

The index stayed in the red throughout the day and fell by 26 points in the early afternoon before climbing up to close seven points lower.

Global stocks tumbled while gold prices surged on Tuesday as Europe’s eastern flank stood on the brink of war after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops into breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine, Reuters reported.

Trading value on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), on which the index is based, surged 21 percent to the highest since January 17 at VND28.24 trillion ($1.24 billion).

The VN30 basket, comprising the 30 largest capped stocks, saw 19 tickers in the red, with POW of electricity producer Petrovietnam Power Corporation losing 3.3 percent to the lowest in over a week.

SSI of leading brokerage SSI Securities Corporation and VJC of budget airline Vietjet dropped 2.2 percent.

VIC of biggest private conglomerate Vingroup continued to trade around its one-year low bottom with a 1.9 percent fall.

Eleven blue chip tickers gained, with MBB of lender MB rising 5.4 percent to a new peak, and PLX of fuel distributor Petrolimex gaining 3.5 percent to a three-month high thanks to rising oil prices.

Foreign investors were net sellers to the tune of VND108 billion with focus on PLX of fuel distributor Petrolimex and NVL of real estate developer Novaland Group.

The HNX-Index for stocks on the Hanoi Stock Exchange, home to mid and small caps, lost 1.49 percent while the UPCoM-Index for the Unlisted Public Companies Market fell 0.58 percent.