Trading was lackluster this morning, mainly due to investors’ reluctance to buy, with sell-side orders gradually pushing prices down. Except for the first few minutes when the VN-Index was slightly positive, the rest of the session saw a continuous downward trend, ending the morning at its lowest point with four times as many losers as gainers.
Today marks the futures expiry, and caution prevailed after three consecutive losing sessions. The large-cap stocks failed to stabilize the market, despite VCB and VIC trading in the green. The number of declining stocks far outweighed the gainers in the VN30 basket (3 gainers vs 25 losers).
The VN-Index opened at its intraday high, gaining nearly four points, before plunging to a loss of 5.61 points (-0.44%) at the midday break. The decline in the VN30 constituents was evident, but the overall market breadth also indicated selling pressure across the board. Specifically, the best breadth for the index this morning was 162 gainers vs 71 losers, but by 10 am, it narrowed to 159 gainers vs 127 losers, and by 11 am, it stood at 108 gainers vs 185 losers. At the closing bell, it further deteriorated to 67 gainers vs 270 losers.
The VN30-Index ended the morning session down 0.42%, with only three stocks in positive territory: VCB (+0.33%), VIC (+0.24%), and ACB (+0.19%). All other large-cap stocks, except for the unchanged TCB, traded in the red. Fortunately, the decline in the index heavyweights was relatively modest, with HPG (-0.92%) being the biggest loser among the top 10 by market cap. However, eight stocks in the basket fell by more than 1%, with SSB (-2.1%) and GVR (-1.66%) being the weakest performers.
Across the broader HoSE market, out of the 270 declining stocks, 78 fell by more than 1%. Only four stocks had notable trading volume exceeding VND 100 billion: MSN (-1.24%) with VND 216.9 billion, HDB (-1.11%) with VND 137.7 billion, DBC (-2.84%) with VND 122 billion, and HCM (-1.32%) with VND 101.6 billion. The total trading value on the exchange decreased by over 6% from the previous morning, reaching just over VND 4,766 billion. Many stocks witnessed sharp declines coupled with low liquidity, indicating a withdrawal of funds.
Apart from the expiry effect, the contraction in trading volume also reflected investors’ disappointment with the 1300-point region, as the market kept repeating the same patterns. Without a breakthrough, investors, though not ready to “liquidate” their portfolios, lacked incentives to buy more. Consequently, the market dynamics shifted in favor of sellers, and the extent of the price decline was at their discretion.
Stocks that went against the downward trend this morning mostly had modest trading volumes, ranging from a few hundred million to a few billion dong. Among the 67 gainers, 22 stocks rose by more than 1%, but none stood out in terms of liquidity. While YEG, HVH, PVP, MSH, TIP, and NO1 saw significant price moves, their trading volumes were relatively low, with YEG’s VND 13.7 billion being the highest. This level of liquidity does not guarantee the reliability of the stock prices due to the limited participation.
Foreign investors continued their substantial net selling on HoSE, withdrawing another VND 288.8 billion this morning. This marked the fourth consecutive morning session of net selling exceeding VND 100 billion. While no single stock experienced a dramatic sell-off, the selling was spread across numerous stocks. Notable stocks on the sell side included HDB (-VND 48.3 billion), VHM (-VND 27.2 billion), HPG (-VND 24.5 billion), and DBC (-VND 20.1 billion). On the buy side, STB stood out with a net purchase of VND 72.3 billion. This continuous net selling trend suggests that this week is shaping up to be a record-breaking 10th week of net selling and the fourth consecutive week of outflows.
The VN-Index ended the morning session down 5.61 points, slipping to 1273.87. The October low, in terms of closing price, was 1269.93, and the intraday low was 1264.65. Thus, the index has retreated to just above its most recent short-term low, which had sparked hopes for a more positive market sentiment ahead of the Q3 earnings season. However, those hopes have not materialized so far.
