HÀ NỘI – Stocks on the HCM Stock Exchange edged up in the last trading minutes yesterday, but the overall market condition was negative as investors remained cautious prior to year-end holidays.

The benchmark VN-Index, the measure of 321 stocks, gained marginally to close the session at 664.4 points. The gauge slid 1.6 per cent for the week.

The losers outnumbered the gainers by 130-110, while 81 ended flat.

Gains of heavyweight stocks such as dairy firm Vinamilk (VNM), real estate developer VinGroup (VIC), Vietcombank (VCB), Vietinbank (CTG), insurer Bảo Việt Holdings (BVH) and steelmaker Hòa Phát Group (HPG) rescued the market from another fall.

On the Hà Nội Stock Exchange, without the support of large-cap stocks, the HNX-Index decreased 0.9 per cent to end at 79.1 points. The Index slipped 0.8 per cent this week.

The decline was attributed to weak purchasing, as investors worried about the markets being pulled down by large-cap shares and had their minds on the holidays.

“The market is under pressure from dry cash inflows. Support information has given a little boost to the market overall and had limited effect on several individual stocks,” stock analysts at Artex Securities Co wrote in a note.

The market was undergoing another downward adjustment with up-and-down sessions altering. However, the VN-Index could bounce back to 665-670 point range in the next sessions as major stocks recovered, analysts at Maritime Securities Co wrote in a note.

Liquidity increased yesterday with a total of 150.3 million shares worth VNĐ2.7 trillion (US$118.9 million) traded in the two markets, up both 8 per cent in volume and value compared to Thursday’s figures.

Việt Nam Sea Products Import-Export Joint Stock Corporation debuted all 125 million shares yesterday on the Unlisted Public Company Market (UPCoM) under the code SEA. The shares climbed 39.5 per cent to end at VNĐ15,900 a share.               

Foreign investors remained net sellers in HCM City’s market but their net sell value decreased substantially to just VNĐ4.4 billion. They were net buyers in Hà Nội but for just VNĐ303 million. – VNS