Shares fall for third day of trading

HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese shares dropped for the third straight session on Thursday but the recovery of large-caps at the end of trading session helped narrow the market’s decline.

The benchmark VN-Index on the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange (HOSE) fell 0. 四 三 per cent to close at  九 五0.0 八 points.

The southern market index lost 0. 八 二 per cent on Wednesday.

More than  一 四 二. 八 million shares were traded on the southern bourse, worth VNĐ 三. 三 trillion (US$ 一 四 一 million).

Declining stocks outnumbered gainers by  一 六 三 to  一 一 三 on the southern market while  六 六 others were unchanged.

On the Hà Nội Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index edged down 0.0 六 per cent to end at  一0 三. 五0 points.

The HNX-Index shed 0. 三 八 per cent in the previous day.

More than  二 二. 二 million shares were traded on the northern market, worth VNĐ 二 六 九 billion.

“Market liquidity remains low, indicating that cash flow still stands outside the market, showing low internal strength of the market,” Bảo Việt Securities Company (BVSC) said in its daily report.

Shares plunged in the morning due to weak demand but in the afternoon, many large-cap stocks recovered and prevented the market from falling further. Gainers included Vietcombank (VCB), PetroVietnam Gas JSC (GAS), Vinhomes (VHM), Tiền Phong Bank (TPB).

VCB rebounded 0. 四 per cent to VNĐ 六 七, 三00 per share. TPB increased 0. 八 per cent to VNĐ 二 五, 四00 per share with three million shares matched, of which  一. 八 million shares were traded during at-the-closing (ATC) session.

Oil and gas stocks also rose, such as PetroVietnam Technical Services Corporation (PVS), PetroVietnam Drilling and Well Services Corporation (PVD) and PetroViet Nam Coating JSC (PVB). They all climbed by 0. 五 per cent.

However, market indices still could not rebound as the pressure from losing stocks such as Vinamilk (VNM), Vietjet Air (VJC), Phú Nhuận Jewellery (PNJ), PetroVietnam Power Corporation (POW) and Novaland (NVL) was still significant.

Insurance, information and technology, securities, agriculture, construction, construction materials, stock brokerages, real estate, logistics, food and beverage, and retail were among the worst-performing sectors in the trading session.

Those sector indices declined between 0. 一 五 per cent and  三. 六 二 per cent, data on vietstock.vn showed.

The UPCOM Index on the Unlisted Public Company Market (UPCoM) lost 0. 二 七 per cent to finish at  五 四. 九 七 points. The unlisted market index slipped 0.0 三 per cent to finish at  五 五. 一 二 points in the previous session.

According to Bảo Việt Securities Company (BVSC), the market is expected to rebound over several sessions. However, the VN-Index’s recovery effort will be challenged by the resistance zone at  九 六0- 九 六 五 points.

Bank stocks, despite correction pressure, are expected to recover over several sessions. Oil and gas stocks are forecast to incur a technical recovery soon, BVSC said.

BIDV Securities Company (BSC) said in its report that domestic and regional markets were under profit-taking pressure and waited for new supportive information, especially investors' expectation that the US Federal Reserves will announce the possibility of lowering interest rates after a meeting in next week.

Foreign investors on Thursday sold a net VNĐ 七 九.0 四 billion on HOSE, focusing on Vinhomes (VHM) (VNĐ 九 三. 四 六 billion), Vinamilk (VNM) (VNĐ 二 八. 四 三 billion) and Hòa Phát Group (HPG) (VNĐ 二 四. 一 六 billion). However, they bought a net VNĐ 六. 六 六 billion on the HNX. — VNS