VN-Index inches back into the green

The index stayed in the green for most of the day and closed 20.79 points higher after losing nearly 30 points Monday.

Trading value on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), on which the index is based, fell 26 percent to VND19.17 trillion ($842 billion), the lowest out of six sessions.

The VN30 basket, comprising the 30 largest capped stocks, saw 27 tickers in green, led by MSN of conglomerate Masan Group with a 5.9 percent gain.

The ticker is now at six-week high after falling from its peak of Nov. 29.

Bank stocks recovered slightly from Monday’s dive with 18 of 20 tickers in the green, gaining nearly 1.7 percent. Biggest gainers in the sector were BID of state-owned lender BIDV, up 3.2 percent; and VPB of private lender VPBank, up 2.7 percent.

Other gaining stocks included the three Vingroup-related tickers: VIC of biggest private conglomerate Vingroup, VRE of mall operators Vincom Retail, and VHM of real estate giant Vinhome, which rose between 2.3 and 3 percent.

POW of PetroVietnam Power Corporation gained 2.3 percent.

Three blue chip tickers fell, led by PLX of fuel distributor Petrolimex with a 2-percent loss. HPG of steelmaker Hoa Phat and VJC of budget airline Vietjet closed 0.4 and 0.6 percent lower, respectively.

Overall, 210 tickers on HoSE gained and 135 lost.

Foreign investors were net buyers for the first time in four sessions to the tune of VND954 billion, with focus on STB of private lender Sacombank, MSN of conglomerate Masan Group and VHM of real estate giant Vinhomes.

The HNX-Index for stocks on the Hanoi Stock Exchange, home to mid and small caps, rose 0.67 percent while the UPCoM-Index for the Unlisted Public Companies Market gained 0.33 percent.