Shares edged higher yesterday on the two exchanges but the overall market condition was negative as investors turned cautious ahead of the November US Federal Reserve meeting and presidential elections. — Photo doanhnhansaigon.vn

HÀ NỘI – Shares edged higher yesterday on the two exchanges but the overall market condition was negative as investors turned cautious ahead of the November US Federal Reserve meeting and presidential elections.

The benchmark VN-Index, the measure of 314 stocks on the HCM Stock Exchange, inched up 0.1 per cent at 676.6 points despite being below the reference threshold for most of the trading day. The Index was down 1 per cent on Monday.

On the Hà Nội Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index tracking 379 stocks also increased 0.1 per cent to 82.3 points. It dropped 1 per cent on Monday.

“The market is moving sideways with ups and downs in a narrow band. Cautious sentiment dominates the market with awaited information about the meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee in November, the US presidential elections, as well as a new move by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in cutting production,” Trần Đức Anh, stock analyst at Bảo Việt Securities Co, wrote in a report.

Oil prices rose yesterday in Asian trading after the OPEC agreed on a long-term strategy. The price of black gold has risen 13 per cent since OPEC announced a production cut to support prices on October 27. However, the market is still weighed down by record output from the group.

Large-cap stocks were mixed: 17 of the top 30 shares by market capitalisation still lost value, including Masan Group (MSN), Vietinbank (CTG), Sacombank (STB), PetroVietnam Drillings and Wells Service (PVD), software producer FPT Corp and steelmaker Hòa Phát Group (HPG).

Some recovered from Monday’s losses, contributing to the rally of the VN-Index, such as real estate giant VinGroup (VIC), lender BIDV (BID) and insurer Bảo Việt Holdings (BVH).

Money focused on low-priced speculative stocks, particularly realty firms such as the FLC Group, Faros Construction (ROS), Tân Tạo Investment Industry (ITA) and Hoàng Quân Consulting-Trading-Service Real Estate (HQC).

Liquidity decreased with 154.7 million shares worth a combined VNĐ2.2 trillion (US$98.7 million) traded in the two markets, down 7.9 per cent in volume and 15.4 per cent in value compared to Monday’s levels.

Foreign investors extended their net buys to three days in a row on the HCM City exchange with a value of VNĐ11.5 billion, but they remained net sellers in the Hà Nội market, offloading shares worth a net sell value of VNĐ1.8 billion. – VNS