Vietnamese stocks ended with a mixed note today as investors picked up blue chips on the northern bourses but booked profit in the smaller cap one ahead of Lunar New Year holiday.
The benchmark VN Index gained 0.99 point, or 0.27% to end at 358.86. Volume fell 19.2% to 23.7 million shares worth VND348.8 billion, including 7.6 million shares worth of VND129.7 billion changed hands in the put-through deals.
VN Index opened in the red with 0.7 million shares traded .Trading was still sluggish as a part of year-end sentiment. However, buying into heavy weighs and blue chips buoyed the market, VN Index closed the continuous trading session with a gain of 4 points, standing well above 360. However, selling pressure at the last 15 minutes of ATC session pared the gain, sending VN Index back to under 360 though it remained green color.
Heavy weighs BVH, CTG were ceiling gainers, VIC closed near the ceiling line supported the market. However, MSN fell back to the negative ground after briefly hitting the ceiling today. Of note, foreigners bought 444,030 CTG shares out of the total 546,790 shares traded today and 122,720 BVH shares out of 166,140 shares changed hands.
SSI lost but other broker SBS hit the ceiling for 6th day. Property stocks DIC, DIG, ITC, stayed in the neutral line while NTL, ITA, KBC, SJS were losers.
Market breadth was negative. Among 306 listed firms on HOSE, losers outweighed gainers by 125-91 and 68 stocks unchanged and the rest untraded. As many as 32 stocks closed at the ceiling price and 54 fell to the floor.
Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Joint Stock Bank or Sacombank (STB) was the most active stock today, with 1.1 million shares traded, closing flat at VND17,700 for a third day.
Saigon Securities Inc. (SSI) ranked second with 0.8 million shares traded, closing down 2% to VND13,700.
Transport Engineering Construction and Business Investment JSC. 584 (NTB) was in the third place with 0.7 million shares traded, closing up 5% to VND4,200.
Military Commercial Joint Stock Bank (MBB) ranked forth with 0.6 million shares traded, closing down 2.5% to VND11,500.
Refrigeration Electrical Engineering Corporation (REE) was in the fifth place with 0.6 million shares traded, closing flat at VND11,900.
On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX closed down 0.45 point or 0.78% to 56.55. Trading volume fell 24.9% to 19.4 million shares traded for VND158.1 billion of which 2.2 million shares worth VND34.2 billion were changed hands in put-through deals.
Market breadth was negative with 95 gainers, 105 losers and 69 flat issues, 124 untraded.
VNDIRECT Securities Corporation (VND) was the most active stock with 2.1 million shares changed hands, closing down 1.5% to VND6,500 on average.
Kim Long Securities JSC (KLS) ranked second in the list with 1.9 million shares traded, closing flat at VND8,400 on average.
Wall Street Securities JSC (WSS) came third with 1.2 million shares traded, closing flat at VND3,600 on average.
Source Scarlet D./ StoxPlus
