An investor looks at stock prices on a laptop at a brokerage in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran
Vietnam’s benchmark VN-Index rose 0.55% to 1,286.52 points while Asian markets dropped to a three-week low Thursday afternoon.
The index closed 7 points higher after dropping 1.6 points in the previous session.
Trading on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange increased by 18% to VND15.70 trillion (US$623 million).
The VN-30 basket, comprising the 30 largest capped stocks, saw 23 tickers gained.
Four banks led the rise.
STB of Ho Chi Minh City-based lender Sacombank went up 3% and TPB of private TPBank closed 2.3% higher.
ACB of Asia Commercial Bank and MBB of lender MB both increased by 1.6%.
Seven blue chips declined, including HDB of HDBank with a 1.7% decline.
Foreign investors were net sellers for the fifth session in a row to the tune of VND397 billion.
They mainly net sold HDB of HDBank and DBC of meat producer Dabaco Group.
The HNX-Index for stocks on the Hanoi Stock Exchange, home to mid and small caps, rose 0.81%, while the UPCoM-Index for the Unlisted Public Companies Market went up 0.41%.
Asian shares were pinned to three-week lows, as a housing policy briefing in China underwhelmed investors and property stocks slumped, while the euro touched an 11-week low ahead of an expected rate cut by the European Central Bank, Reuters reported.
Japan’s Nikkei slipped 0.7% and China’s broad indexes lacked direction after early gains reversed. The Shanghai Composite rose 0.1% and is now trading more than 10% below last week’s 33-month high.
CSI300 real estate stocks fell 7%, reversing two days of gains. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng last up 0.5% but sitting 12% below its most recent peak, as investors move aside to wait for more Chinese government spending and signs it is helping the economy.
