Local shares extended their gains today, April 23, as the Government agreed a day earlier to relax social distancing measures in the nation’s two biggest cities, HCMC and Hanoi, fueling hopes that the economy hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic would recover in coming months.
On the Hochiminh Stock Exchange, the VN-Index added 4.99 points, or 0.65%, against the previous day at 773.91. There were 205.8 million shares worth nearly VND3.3 trillion changing hands at the end of the day, down 19% and 22%, respectively.
Related: Vietnam’s HCMC and Hanoi stop social distancing, start living with the pandemic
Local oil stocks, including GAS, PLX and PVD, gained on rising global prices. Brent crude was up 1.6% at US$20.7 a barrel after a pickup of more than 5% on Wednesday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures increased by more than 2% to trade at US$14.06 a barrel.
In the VN30 basket, 16 stocks edged up, nine fell and five closed unchanged. Steel HPG again led the HCMC market by liquidity with 8.3 million shares transacted, gaining 3.9% at VND21,600.
Also read: ACB’s Q1 performance: Balance sheet numbers reflect strong asset quality
Saigon-Hanoi Securities in a report said massive sell-offs on Tuesday made local stocks more attractive to investors. However, turnover has weakened and stayed below the 20-day average in the past two days, suggesting that a technical recovery was more likely.
Foreign investors continued their net selling. They net sold around VND300 billion worth of shares on the HCMC exchange, chiefly bank stocks like HDB, VCB and VPB.
On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index rose 0.17 point, or 0.16%, at 106.97, driven by some small stocks. Meanwhile, two key stocks – lender ACB and property group CEO — slid 0.5% and 1.5% at VND20,300 and VND6,800, respectively.
Reporting by the Saigon Time staff reporter
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