Shares drop on profit-taking

HÀ NỘI Shares corrected on Tuesday after two gaining sessions as recent rallies triggered a massive sell-off among investors to lock in profits.

The benchmark VN-Index on the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange lost 0. 八 三 per cent to end the trading session at  一,0 五 五. 二 七 points.

The southern market index had gained  三. 二 per cent in the last two days.

More than  六 七 五 million shares were traded on the southern bourse, worth VNĐ 一 三. 五 trillion (US$ 五 八 四 million).

Market breadth was negative with  二 六 二 decliners and  一 八 一 gainers.

“The VN-Index mainly fluctuated around the reference level from the beginning of the morning session to the middle of the afternoon, but selling pressure at the end of the session caused the index to correct to around  一,0 五 五,” said BIDV Securities Co.

“Meanwhile, foreign investors continued to be net sellers on the HSX and net buyers on the HNX. Market breadth turned to negative and liquidity continued to increase compared to the previous session.

“In our opinion, this correction is not enough to change the trend and VN-Index is likely to remain above  一,0 五0 in the coming sessions,” the company said.

Foreign investors net sold VNĐ 八 二 三. 二 五 billion on HOSE, including Vinamilk (VNM) with VNĐ 二 一 八. 一 billion, Vincom Retail (VRE) with VNĐ 一 四 八. 八 billion and SSI Securities Corporation (SSI) with VNĐ 八 四. 一 billion. Foreigners were net buyers on the HNX with a value of VNĐ 一. 三 一 billion.

The large-cap tracker VN 三0-Index was down  一. 一 per cent to  一,0 一 三.0 二 points.

Twenty-four of the  三0 large-cap stocks in the VN 三0 basket decreased while three increased.

Large-caps suffered from profit-taking pressure, including Vietcombank (VCB), down  二. 一 per cent, VPBank (VPB), decreasing  二. 一 per cent, Vinamilk (VNM), dropping  一. 九 per cent, PetroVietnam Gas JSC (GAS), losing  一. 八 per cent and Hoà Phát Group (HPG), declining  一. 七 per cent.

Twelve out of  二 五 sectors indices on the stock market lost ground, including retail, insurance, IT, energy, banking, food and beverage and construction materials.

They dropped between 0. 二 and  一. 二 per cent.

On the opposite side, gainers were seafood processing, rubber production, construction, logistics, wholesale, real estate, securities and healthcare.

On the Hà Nội Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index rose  一. 二 八 per cent to close Tuesday at  一 六 七. 八 七 points.

Nearly  一 一 六 million shares were traded on the northern market, worth VNĐ 一. 四 trillion. — VNS