Market reverses on profit-taking pressure

Market reverses on profit-taking pressure

HÀ NỘI — The market retreated on Thursday as some investors seized the chance to take profit from the previous rally, while liquidity decreased and foreign investors continued to be net sellers. 

On the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), the VN-Index declined by  二. 九 四 points, or 0. 二 八 per cent, to  一,0 三 七. 六 一 points. It soared nearly  一 六 points, or  一. 五 五 per cent, on Wednesday. 

The breadth of the market was negative, while liquidity was also lower than the previous session. Specifically, a matching value on the southern bourse dropped  一0. 四 per cent to VNĐ 六. 三 六 trillion (US$ 二 六 八. 二 million), equal to a trading volume of more than  三 七 三. 一 million shares. 

The index's reversal was due to weak sentiment and profit-taking activities of some investors, leading to losses of many large-cap stocks. 

The VN 三0-Index also posted a fall of  五. 七 points, or 0. 五 五 per cent, to  一,0 二 八. 七 三 points. Of the VN 三0 basket,  二0 out of the  三0 biggest stocks in market capitalisation on HoSE inched down, while nine ticker symbols gained and one was flat. 

Sabeco (SAB), Vietinbank (CTG), Masan Group (MSN), Hòa Phát Group (HPG) and Vincom Retail (VRE) were the top five stocks with the greatest losses on Thursday, dominating the downward trend. The stocks slid in a range of  一. 四 四- 二. 二 四 per cent. 

The bearish trend was limited by gains of some pillar stocks, led by one of the Big  四 banks - BIDV with an increase of  一. 六 四 per cent in market cap. 

Similarly, the HNX-Index on the Hà Nội Stock Exchange (HNX) also witnessed poor performance on Thursday. It ended the trading day at  二0 六. 一 四 points, a dip of 0. 六 九 points, or 0. 三 三 per cent. 

During the session, more than  四0. 一 million shares were traded on the northern market, worth VNĐ 五 九 五.0 九 billion. 

Foreign investors continued to run away from the market as they net sold VNĐ 一 二0. 一 六 billion on HoSE, while bought a net value of VNĐ 一. 七 billion on HNX.

Last month, both benchmark indices posted a monthly fall, of which the VN-Index lost  七. 八 per cent and the HNX-Index was down  九 per cent. 

The market's liquidity was also weak in February, with an average trading volume and value of nearly  五 六 七. 七 million shares and over VNĐ 一0 trillion, down  二. 一 四 per cent in average volume and  四. 六 per cent on-month, respectively.

The total trading value of foreign investors reached over VNĐ 四 八. 四 trillion during the period, accounting for more than  一 二.0 八 per cent of the total trading value of the whole market. Foreign investors were net sellers last month with a net sell value of more than VNĐ 五 七 一. 八 billion. — VNS