Customers buy petrol at a Petrolimex station in Hà Nội. Petrolimex shares dropped 5.3 per cent on Tuesday to VNĐ43,800. — VNS Photo Mai Hương

HÀ NỘI – Investors settled on Tuesday after a tumultuous start to the week, led by the recovery of major large-cap stocks.

On the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange, the VN-Index edged up 0.24 per cent, rebounding from a 6.3 per-cent plunge on Monday, to close Tuesday at 837.50 points.

Major blue chips bounced back to help ease investor fears of a long-term downturn due to COVID-19 and a global oil price war.

Of the 12 gainers in the VN30, tracking the top 30 largest shares by market value and liquidity, nine increased by more than 1 per cent, of which Vinamilk (VNM) was the biggest gainer with growth of 4.9 per cent. Other big supporters included steelmaker Hòa Phát Group (HPG), Vietinbank (CTG) and FPT Corp (FPT), which rose from 2-3.8 per cent.

On the other end of the spectrum, seven shares fell by more than 1 per cent, of which the biggest losers were PV Gas (GAS), insurer Bảo Việt Holdings (BVH), Petrolimex (PLX) and FLC Faros Construction (ROS), each down by more than 5 per cent.

Oil made a rebound on Tuesday after a 20 per cent dip on Monday, but complicated developments still weighed on energy shares. PetroVietnam Drilling and Wells Service (DVD), PetroVietnam Coating (PVB) and PetroVietnam Technical Services (PVS) slumped by around 5 per cent.

On the Hà Nội Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index narrowed its loss from 6.4 per cent on Monday to just 0.14 per cent on Tuesday, ending at 106.20 points.

Liquidity decreased slightly compared to the previous session, with 362.5 million shares worth VNĐ7.4 trillion (US$318.6 million) traded, down 4 per cent in volume and 5 per cent in value.

According to BIDV Securities Co, the drawback during Tuesday’s session was strong net selling by foreign investors.

Foreign sectors continued to offload shares worth a combined VNĐ418 billion on the two exchanges on Tuesday, up 81 per cent over Monday. This sector extended their net selling streak to 21 consecutive sessions with total value of nearly VNĐ4 trillion.

According to Phan Dũng Khánh, head of investment consultancy at Maybank Kim Eng Securities Co, the market would remain on a downtrend but opportunities remained in penny stocks and the derivatives market.

“The market has been on a downtrend since 2018, so it is hard to predict the bottom. The following sessions will be a good opportunity for investors to restructure their portfolios,” Khánh said. — VNS