Sellers weren’t aggressive in offloading their stocks, and buyers remained indifferent, resulting in a narrow range-bound market this morning. While the breadth was overwhelmingly positive, the extremely low volume indicated that prices were maintained in a balanced manner. Foreign investors traded neutrally, excluding the large agreed-upon sale of VJC.
The VN-Index ended the morning session up 0.52%, or 6.3 points. However, most of this gain was achieved at the opening bell, and the index traded within a tight range of just 5.3 points. On the positive side, the index maintained a sideways trend throughout the session without any significant rallies or dips, indicating a balanced supply-demand dynamic.
The breadth also favored advancers throughout the morning session. The HoSE closed with 238 gainers and 136 decliners, including 71 stocks rising over 1% and accounting for 37.8% of the total floor value. On the downside, 49 stocks fell more than 1%, representing 15.4% of the floor value. However, HoSE’s volume was meager, at only 4,525 billion VND, a 34% decrease from the previous morning and the lowest in the last ten sessions. This low volume across the board indicated a balanced tug-of-war between buyers and sellers, with neither side willing to make aggressive moves.
Due to the overall weak market sentiment, only a handful of stocks displayed notable strength. Out of the ten stocks on the HoSE with liquidity above the 100 billion VND threshold, all but TCH, which fell 3.01%, traded higher. Significant gainers were also scarce, with MWG rising 1.44% on a volume of 283.1 billion VND, FPT climbing 1.24% with 170.8 billion VND, SSI up 1.5% at 114.2 billion VND, TCB gaining 1.2% with 112.8 billion VND, and CTG advancing 2.98% to 100.5 billion VND being the most prominent.
Banking stocks performed well this morning: 10 out of 27 stocks rose more than 1%, and 18 out of 27 were in the green, with none in the red. Six bank stocks were among the top ten stocks contributing to the VN-Index’s gain, with CTG and BID leading the pack. The strong performance of bank stocks also helped the VN30-Index outperform the VN-Index, closing 0.65% higher compared to the VN-Index’s 0.52% gain. Meanwhile, the Midcap and Smallcap indices rose 0.45% and 0.16%, respectively.
While the mid-and small-cap stocks appeared weak when looking at the indices, several individual stocks outperformed the overall market. However, due to the limited liquidity, there wasn’t enough momentum to lift the sector broadly. FTS, CTR, DGW, BSI, VTP, KBC, CTS, NAB, VGC, and BCG were among the stocks that rose over 2% with volumes exceeding 10 billion VND.
On the downside, the lack of significant selling pressure kept the downside limited, and only a few individual stocks witnessed notable declines. HHS fell 4.18% with 47 billion VND in volume, NHA declined 2.61% with 15.2 billion VND, TCH dropped 3.01% with 402 billion VND, and HAG decreased by 2.33% with 66.9 billion VND being the only noteworthy losers.
The VN-Index rose modestly by 6.3 points this morning but failed to surpass the maximum gain of the previous two sessions. Nonetheless, the market’s ability to maintain its elevated levels despite short-term profit-taking pressure is a positive sign. The market is currently in a wait-and-see mode, anticipating more decisive action from investors who purchased stocks at the recent lows. If these investors have high expectations and choose to hold onto their stocks, significant selling pressure is unlikely to emerge.
