Shares fall as selling pressure increases

HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese shares continued to decline on Thursday on low liquidity as large-caps were hit strongly by selling pressure.

The benchmark VN-Index on the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange decreased 0. 二 三 per cent to close at  九 六 九. 三 四 points.

Nearly  一 六0 million shares were traded on the southern exchange, worth VNĐ 四 trillion (US$ 一 七 四 million).

The index inched down 0.0 五 per cent on Wednesday to close at  九 七 一. 五 四 points.

The HNX-Index on the Hà Nội Stock Exchange (HNX) stayed unchanged at  一0 五. 三 二 points.

Over  二 一 million shares were traded on the northern exchange, worth VNĐ 二 四 四 billion.

Selling pressure increased significantly at the end of the session, weighing on many large-cap stocks such as real estate company Vinhomes (VHM), Hòa Phát Group (HPG), Masan Group (MSN) and dairy firm Vinamilk (VNM). HPG dropped by  一. 五 per cent to VNĐ 三 二,000 per share. MSN dropped  二. 一 per cent to VNĐ 八 五, 五00 per share. VHM decreased by  一. 二 per cent to VNĐ 八 二, 六00 per share and VNM dropped  一. 一 per cent to VNĐ 一 三 一, 五00.

Other blue-chips managed to maintain their rally, cushioning the indices, including Sài Gòn-Hà Nội Bank (SHB), brewery Sabeco (SAB), real estate company Novaland (NVL), HDBank (HDB), budget carrier Vietjet Air (VJC) and Vietnam Construction And Import-Export Joint Stock Corporation (VCG).

Investor sentiment appears to be weak due to a lack of supportive information and the risk of volatility on world markets.

On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost  二 二 一. 三 六 points, or 0. 八 七 per cent, to close at  二 五, 一 二 六. 四 一 points, the lowest level since February  一 一. The S P  五00 and Nasdaq Composite also fell.

Some oil and gas stocks such as PetroVietnam Drilling and Well Services Corporation (PVD) and Drilling Mud Joint Stock Corporation (PVC) fell slightly.

Sectors that increased included insurance, banking and construction.

Food and beverages, securities, real estate, agriculture, logistics and construction materials were among the sectors that reported losses.

Foreign investors sold a net value of VNĐ 六 八 九. 三 四 billion on the HoSE, focusing on Vietjet Air (VNĐ 六 九0.0 六 billion), Vinhomes (VNĐ 三 三. 八 三 billion) and Vinamilk (VNĐ 二 八. 六 七 billion). They also sold a net value of VNĐ 六. 九 billion on the HNX.

According to Bảo Việt Securities Company (BVSC), the market is likely to decrease toward the support zone of  九 六0- 九 六 五 points. As the market is moving sideways, stock exposure should be limited at  四0- 五0 per cent of an investor's portfolio. — VNS