Illustrative image (Source: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) - Shares lost most of the value gained in morning session on August 4 as increased investor selling in the afternoon eroded confidence in the ongoing rally.
The benchmark VN-Index, the measure of total 310 stocks on the HCM Stock Exchange, managed to close higher for the first time in the last five days. It inched up 0.1 percent to close at 631.9 points.
On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index extended losses to four days in a row, down 0.1 percent to end the day at 81.2 points.
“Selling pressure continued to increase while declining liquidity showed investor sentiment remained pessimistic,” analysts of Maritime Securities Co wrote in a report.
The VN-Index gained over 1.2 percent in the morning before pushing down again in afternoon, particularly in large-cap stocks like property developers VinGroup (VIC) and FLC Group (FLC), lender BIDV (BID) and steelmaker Hòa Phát Group (HPG).
Some stocks bucked the trend and supported the market.
Vietcombank (VCB), Vietnam’s largest bank by total assets, jumped over 3 percent. Dairy giant Vinamilk (VNM) increased 1.3 percent. Oil and gas stocks like PV Gas (GAS), PetroVietnam Drilling and Wells Service (PVD), PetroVietnam Drilling Mud (PVC) and PetroVietnam Technical Services (PVS) maintained rises of between 1 and 2 percent.
WTI Oil prices rose more than 3 percent overnight on August 4 to reach above 40 USD per barrel again, after data showed that American fuel supplies last week fell more sharply than expected.
Le Duc Khanh, head of investment strategy at MSI Securities, said the market could see a downward correction in the near future when the first-half earnings prospect runs out of steam and the market appears to lack support information in August.
“The market will continue to adjust at least in the first week of August. It could bottom out in the mid month and will recover,” Khanh said.
Liquidity remained low with a total of over 153 million shares worth a combined 2.4 trillion VND (107 million USD) traded on the two exchanges.
Foreign investors continued buy in, picking up shares worth a net buy of nearly 74 billion VND on August 4 in the two markets. They bought a total net value of more than 300 billion VND in the last three sessions.-VNA
