Investors watch market fluctuations on the trading floor of BIDV Securities. (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) - Shares declined on August 1 on the two exchanges as investors sold large-cap stocks to earn short profits after the earnings prospect runs out of steam.
The benchmark VN-Index, the measure of 310 stocks on the HCM Stock Exchange decreased for second day on August 1, inching down 0.6 percent to close at 648.4 points.
On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index also dropped 0.6 percent to end the session at 83.2 points.
Industry leading stocks like dairy giant Vinamilk (VNM), Vietcombank (VCB), steelmakers Hoa Phat Group (HPG) and Hoa Sen Group (HSG) all declined between 1 and 4 percent.
Newly-released big profits in the first half of this year failed to rescue these shares as investors began to sell out to earn short margins after these shares recorded the biggest gains last week.
Vinamilk on August 1 reported a 32-per-cent year-on-year increase in net profit in the first half-year, surpassing 4.8 trillion VND (215 million USD). Vietcombank posted a pre-tax profit of nearly 4.3 trillion VND during January-June, a rise of 35.5 percent over the 2015’s same period, while Hoa Phat Group’s net profit soared 60.4 percent year-on-year to reach over 3 trillion VND.
On the other end of spectrum, oil and gas shares rebounded yesterday as investors bet on their recovery along with rising global oil prices.
PV Gas (GAS), PetroVietnam Drilling and Wells Service (PVD), PetroVietnam Technical Services (PVS) and PetroVietnam Drilling Mud (PVC) gained between 1.6- 2.7 percent.
Tran Thang Long, head of research at BIDV Securities Company, said investors who take high risk and prefer short-term trading could start tracking the petroleum stocks as some of this group such as GAS and PVD have fallen to strong support level.
“WTI Oil prices have fallen to target level of 42 per barrel are expected to recover. This expectation may support these stocks,” Long said.
The overall liquidity was quite dull as just 126 million shares worth a combined 2.44 trillion VND were traded on the two exchanges, down 24 percent in volume and 17 per cent in value compared with the last session.
Foreign investors turned heads to sell out on the HCM City’s exchange, responsible for a net sell of over 1 million shares worth 10.6 billion VND. They bought a net value of 414 billion VND last week.
By contrast, foreigners picked up shares worth a net buy of 22.1 billion VND in the Hanoi market.-VNA
