HCMC – The VN-Index of the Hochiminh Stock Exchange fell 0.41%, or 6.02 points, to close at 1,469.83 points, dragged down by struggling bluechips today, November 18.
Losing stocks slightly outnumbered winning ones by 243 to 223. Some 1,090 million shares worth over VND34.9 trillion changed hands on the southern market, surging 27% in volume and 34% in value compared with the previous session. Approximately 38.4 million shares worth over VND1.98 trillion were traded in block deals.
A number of bluechips suffered steep drops, dragging the market into the red. Fuel distributor GAS and steelmaker HPG were the poorest performers, falling 3.1% to VND113,800 and 2.4% to VND32,400, respectively.
Property enterprise VIC and lender VCB were also among the biggest decliners, dropping 1.9% to VND94,500 and 1% to VND97,000, respectively.
Other major losers included lenders MBB, VPB, and ACB, tech firm FPT, consumer goods producer MSN, and petroleum stock PLX, which lost 1.4-2.4%.
Securities firm SSI was the best performer among large-cap stocks as it shot up to the ceiling price at VND49,050.
A few other heavyweights gained ground, including electricity firm POW, lenders BID and HDB, retailer VRE, and mobile phone trader MWG, up 0.8-3.5%.
HPG took the lead in terms of liquidity with 58.6 million shares changing hands, followed by SSI with 40.9 million shares.
The cash flow was strongly channeled to small and medium stocks and helped 56 of them shoot up to the ceiling prices, including FLC, HQC, GEX, TTF, PAN, TCH, TSC, CII, ITA, HHS, JVC, DIG, ASM, ITC, KHG, HAR, QBS, MHC, PXS, MCG, HAP, TEG, IDI, TLH, VPH, and HPX.
Securities stocks stole the limelight as all of them gained ground. SSI, VIX, TVB, APG, AGR, CTS, and BSI hit the upper limit, while HCM, VCI, VND, VDS, FTS, and ORS soared 3.6-6.2%.
In contrast, most steel, fertilizer, petroleum and bank stocks performed poorly. HSG, NKG, and TLH suffered the steepest decline among steelmakers, down 5.1-6.1%.
Fertilizer producers DPM and DCM dropped sharply, down 5.6% to VND48,600 and 5.7% to VND36,500, respectively.
Among petroleum stocks, PLX, PVD, PSH, PGC, and CNG were the biggest decliners, losing 1.8-4.4%.
On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index rose 1.25%, or 5.78 points, to close at 468.73 points, with 129 winning stocks and 120 losing ones. Over 168.6 million shares worth approximately VND4.36 trillion were transacted.
There were 33 stocks shooting up to the ceiling prices, such as LIG, ITQ, CEO, PVL, DST, HHG, CVN, SD9, PV2, and SD6.
Securities stocks were the best performers, with ART, VIG, HBS, and WSS hitting the upper limit. APS, BVS, IVS, PSI, SHS, and EVS also rose sharply.
