Indices reverse course to finish higher

HÀ NỘI — The market finished higher on Thursday, recouping losses from the previous session, while foreign investors continued to inject capital into the two main bourses. 

The VN-Index on the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) gained more than 8.7 points, or 0.75 per cent, to 1,173.02 points. It lost 1.3 per cent on Tuesday as a strong selling force put pressure on all stock groups, especially the banking industry. 

The market’s breadth was positive, with 197 stocks inching higher while 105 ticked lower. Liquidity, however, fell sharply to nearly VNĐ15.3 trillion (US$625.8 million), from over VNĐ23.3 trillion in the previous trade.

The VN30-Index, tracking the 30 biggest stocks on HoSE, also increased 7.02 points, or 0.6 per cent, to 1,173.35 points. In the VN30 basket, 17 ticker symbols advanced with one logging the biggest intraday gain of 7 per cent, while eight declined and five stayed unchanged. 

On the Hà Nội Stock Exchange (HNX), the HNX-Index closed Thursday at 230.57 points, up 1.39 points, or 0.61 per cent. 

During the session, more than 54 million shares were traded on the northern bourse, worth nearly VNĐ1.2 trillion. 

Lifting the market’s sentiment, many large-cap stocks witnessed strong performances. In particular, Vietcombank (VCB) was the biggest gainer, up 1.47 per cent in market capitalisation. 

Also contributing to the uptrend, Vietnam Rubber Group (GVR) soared 7 per cent, FPT Corporation (FPT) climbed 4.4 per cent, Vietinbank (CTG) increased 1.42 per cent, and Mobile World Investment Corporation (MWG) was up 2.67 per cent. 

However, the gains were capped by losses in some bank stocks, led by BIDV (BID), down 0.94 per cent. It was followed by VPBbank (VPB) and Techcombank (TCB), down 1.29 per cent and 1.16 per cent, respectively. 

Meanwhile, foreign investors were still net buyers on the two main bourses, with a total of VNĐ75.91 billion. Of which, they net bought VNĐ61.27 billion on HoSE and VNĐ14.64 billion on HNX. 

The Vietnamese market moved differently from the US and Asian markets. Both the US and Asian markets finished lower after the US Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday. 

On the other hand, gold prices witnessed strong fluctuations. Gold ended lower in the previous session after gaining up to 1 per cent earlier in the session to a more than two-week high of $2.055.89. However, bullion reversed and climbed higher on Thursday.

The dollar also rose after Fed Chair Jerome Powell pushed back against bets of a US rate cut as soon as March. — VNS