HCMC – The local stock market reversed course as it fell near the end of the session today, October 15, due to an increase in sell orders, but the benchmark VN-Index of the HCMC bourse managed to end the week up slightly thanks to steel stocks and some bluechips.
With 206 winners and 216 losers, the VN-Index inched up a fractional 0.06%, or 0.85 point, to 1,392.7 against the previous session. Turnover on the southern bourse contracted nearly 5% in volume and fell slightly in value compared to the session earlier at over 784 million shares and more than VND22 trillion.
Trading in the VN30 basket remained bearish as 18 stocks declined and 11 others advanced. However, some stocks continued rising, especialy lenders TPB and VPB. Besides, brewey firm SAB and lender STB rose 1.7% each, in addition to some other bluechips that made slight gains including GAS, FPT, HPG and VIC.
Such large caps as VHM, BVH and BID ended lower. Of them, low-cost carrier VJC encountered the biggest decline, 2%, followed by lender HDB, property developer PDR, and electricity firm POW.
Among small and medium stocks, the selling pressure also caused many of them to reverse course to edge lower such as FLC, LCG, ITA.
Lender SHB dropped sharply by up to 5% to its intraday low but it was the most actively traded stock on the southern bourse, with over 29 million shares changing hands.
Small and medium real estate stocks, including KBC, VCG, DXG and CII, eased off their gains in the earlier sessions, dropping into negative territory.
Meanwhile, steel stocks continued to steal the limelight. HPG added nearly 1%; HSG, TLH, POM and SMC expanded over 2% each; and NKG surged 5.3%.
On the Hanoi bourse, the HNX-Index closed unchanged at 384.84 points, with 96 advancers and 106 decliners.
