Hanoi Stock Exchange staff (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) - Shares slowedgrowth in August 3 afternoon trade on rising investor caution when thebenchmark VN-Index touched short-term resistance.
The VN-Index on the HCM Stock Exchangeretreated below 790 points recorded in the morning but still edged up 0.29 percentto close at 788.49 points.
Some large-cap stocks declined andrestrained the market uptrend.
Fifteen of the top 30 largest shares bymarket value and liquidity gained value, fewer than 21 in the morning, whileseven tumbled.
“The VN-Index retained the level of 790points in a fairly short time and lost points early in the afternoon session,which showed the cash flow was quite cautious in this area,” market analysts atBIDV Securities Co (BSC) wrote in the August 3 note.
Sacombank lost the morning gain and dropped2 percent in afternoon trade, settling at 12,300 VND (0.54 USD) a share, itsthird decline following the detention of two of its former bankers, with atotal decrease of 6.2 percent over three sessions.
The bank posted pre-tax combined profits of754 billion VND (33.2 million USD) in the first seven months of this year, up29 percent over the target set for the whole year.
However, other banks recovered. Eximbank(EIB) increased 4.8 percent while BIDV (BID) and Vietcombank (VCB) ticked up 2 percentand 0.5 percent, respectively. Military Bank (MBB) and Vietinbank (CTG) bouncedback to their reference prices.
Gainers also included Vinamilk (VNM), MasanGroup (MSN), FPT Corp (FPT), Mobile World Group (MWG) and PetroVietnam Drillingand Wells Service (PVD).
[Infographics: Vietnam's stock market in first 7 months of 2017]
On the defensive side, insurer Bao Viet Holdings(BDVH), brewery Sabeco (SAB) and Hau Giang Pharmaceutical (DHG) slumped.
BSC predicts the market may trade around785-788 points and continue to test the resistance of 790 points in the nextfew sessions.
On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Indexpicked up 0.46 percent to end at 101.44 points.
A total of 285.4 million shares worth 5trillion VND (220.3 million USD) were traded in the two markets, down 4.2 percentin volume but up 5.3 percent in value compared to the previous session.
Foreign investors kept positive trading onthe HCM City market, with an 11th net buying session for a value of 162 billionVND, up 10.7 percent over the previous trade. They concluded as net sellers fora third day on the Hanoi’s exchange for 1 billion VND, almost half ofWednesday’s value.-VNA
VNA
