An investor looks at stock prices on a smartphone at a brokerage in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran
Vietnam’s benchmark VN-Index rose 0.10% to 1,246.04 points Wednesday while Asian shares slumped.
The index closed 1.22 points higher after dropping 5.50 points in the previous session.
Trading on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange increased by 8% to VND15.335 trillion (US$605 million).
The VN-30 basket, comprising the 30 largest capped stocks, saw 15 tickers gained.
MWG of electronics retail chain Mobile World went up 1.8%, VPB of private lender VPBank rose by 1.3%, and FPT of tech giant FPT Corporation saw a 0.7% increase.
Eleven blue chips fell. The top losers included HPG of steelmaker Hoa Phat Group slid 1.6%, PLX of fuel distributor Petrolimex closed 1.3% lower, and GVR of Vietnam Rubber Group dropped by 1.1%.
Foreign investors were net seller to the tune of VND165 billion, mainly selling ACB of Asia Commercial Bank and FPT.
The HNX-Index for stocks on the Hanoi Stock Exchange, home to mid and small caps, fell 0.21%, while the UPCoM-Index for the Unlisted Public Companies Market went down 0.07%.
Globally, Asian stocks slumped on Wednesday as a sharp rise in U.S. bond yields unnerved investors ahead of key inflation data that could inform the pace of Federal Reserve policy easing, Reuters reported.
Commodities were broadly weaker as traders worried about the outlook for key consumer China, which stands to bear the brunt of Trump’s threatened trade tariffs. Stimulus announcements from Beijing so far have failed to stir much optimism over an economic revival.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slid more than 1%, with a subindex of mainland Chinese property stocks slumping 2.5%. Chinese blue chips were slightly lower.
Japan’s Nikkei and South Korea’s Kospi sagged 1.8% and 2.2%, respectively, while Australia’s stock benchmark fell 1% under the weight of commodity shares.
