HCMC, VIETNAM, October 22nd – The Vietnamese stock market delivered a stunning reversal this week, with the VN-Index snapping back from a sharp intraday drop to secure its second consecutive session of gains. A powerful influx of capital in the final hour of trading proved to be the catalyst, turning what looked like a significant loss into a solid advance.
The Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange’s benchmark index opened the mid-week session in positive territory but quickly faced heavy selling pressure on several large-cap stocks. The index plummeted at one point, shedding a substantial 35 points and breaching the 1,630-point mark.
However, a dramatic shift occurred roughly an hour before the closing bell. Retail and institutional investors began aggressive buying into the lower price levels, triggering a wave of switches from red to green across numerous tickers. This late-stage buying spree propelled the VN-Index to close at 1,675 points, accumulating 15 points over its reference level.
Broad Market Strength Emerges
The sentiment shift was broad-based, with approximately 220 gainers on the HoSE, nearly double the number of declining stocks. The large-cap VN30 basket contributed 21 advancing stocks, with GAS (PetroVietnam Gas) leading the charge with a 5.4% gain.
Sectoral performance highlighted robust investor interest in specific groups:
- Energy and Materials: The entire Oil & Gas and Fertilizer sectors closed in the green, signaling strong confidence in these commodities-related industries.
- Real Estate: The property sector saw particularly buoyant trading, with key stocks like NLG, CII, DXG, DIG, and PDR all surging by over 2%.
- Vingroup Stocks: The major conglomerate saw significant volatility but closed mostly higher. VPLjumped 6.6%, while VHM and VRE accumulated 1.9% and 20.5% respectively. However, the market’s largest-cap stock, VIC, reversed its earlier gains to close lower at 203,000 VND.
Mixed Signals in Financials
The banking and brokerage sectors presented a more complex picture.
Banking: The sector saw strong divergence. OCB, LPB, CTG, and TCB all rose by over 1%. Yet, several mid and large-cap names, including SHB, STB, EIB, and TPB, defied the market rally to close in the red.
Securities: The brokerage group was also polarized. Key pillars like SSI, VCI, and VND ended below their reference price, while HCM, ORS, and VIX staged impressive recoveries from deep intraday lows to close up between 0.3% and 2%.
Liquidity and Foreign Flows
Total trading volume on the HoSE amounted to over 973 million shares, translating to a value of approximately 29.3 trillion VND (about $1.15 billion). While the total value was lower compared to the first two sessions of the week—a consequence of cautious trading for most of the day with capital only rushing in at the close—the final surge demonstrates latent demand.
Leading the market in terms of matched order value was FPT with over 1.77 trillion VND. SHB, SSI, VIX, and MSN all followed, recording more than 1 trillion VND each.
In a reversal from their recent buying spree (which included the strongest net-buy session in three years), foreign investors returned to net selling. The group offloaded over 1.6 trillion VND net, focusing their sales on large-cap stocks such as HPG, MBB, TCB, and CTG.
The day’s dramatic turnaround underscores the high volatility and underlying resilience of the Vietnamese market. The swift mobilization of domestic capital to aggressively buy dips suggests that local investors remain keen to seize opportunities despite current price swings, providing a strong foundation for continued market observation.
