Hòa Phát Hải Dương steel manufacturing facility. Shares of Hòa Phát Group increased 0.44 per cent on Wednesday. — VNA/VNS Photo Danh Lam

HÀ NỘI — Shares tumbled on Wednesday following a three-day rising streak as investors reacted to the economic data released by the General Statistics Office.

On the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange, the VN-Index decreased 0.57 per cent to close at 1,485.82 points. The benchmark index gained 2.6 per in the previous three sessions.

On the Hà Nội Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index inched down 0.05 per cent to end at 457.83 points. The northern market index increased 3.5 per cent since last Friday.

Gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 5.22 per cent in the fourth quarter, higher than the same period last year, but the yearly growth is estimated to reach a decade low of 2.58 per cent as the prolonged lockdown in the third quarter hit the economy.

“Macroeconomic information in the fourth quarter has not yet been the driving force to extend investors’ excitement. The cash flow into the market was not as strong as in the previous session,” stock analysts at vietstock.vn said in a daily report.

Almost 960 million shares worth VNĐ28.9 trillion (US$1.3 billion) were traded in the two markets, down around 14 per cent in both volume and value compared to Tuesday’s levels.

Banks were still a good supporter as only five out of 19 listed lenders lost value. The biggest loser was Vietcombank (VCB), down 0.63 per cent, and with it being the top three largest listed companies by market capitalisation, its slump had a significant impact on the VN-Index’s decline. Meanwhile, Vietinbank (CTG), Vietnam International Bank (VIB), VPBank (VPB), Military Bank (MBB) and Hồ Chí Minh Development Bank (HDB) were on the positive side, helping cushion the market’s fall.

Securities shares also gained with biggest gainers including Saigon Securities Inc (SSI), VNDirect Securities (VND), Hồ Chí Minh Securities JSC (HCM), Viet Capital Securities (VCI) and Vietinbank Securities (CTS) all increasing by more than 1 per cent.

Steelmakers were also big gainers on Wednesday. Hòa Phát Group (HPG) increased 0.44 per cent while Hoa Sen Group (HSG) grew 2.8 per cent and Nam Kim Group (NKG) increased 4.3 per cent. Only Viet-Italy Steel (VIS) was down 3.39 per cent.

According to Lã Giang Trung, general director of Passion Investment, demand for cash usually increases at the end of the year and the liquidity of the banking system will be more strained than at other times. Meanwhile, on the stock market, there will be businesses and investors withdrawing money, affecting the investment cash flow.

“However, monetary policy in the world and in Việt Nam, in general, is still at the stage of expansion and has not been tightened. Therefore, the concern of reduced liquidity is not a big problem of the stock market,” Trung told tinnhanhchungkhoan.vn.

If the market corrects due to weak cash flow, the decrease will not be too strong and will become an opportunity for investors to disburse for 2022, he said. — VNS