Shares move up for third day in a row
Shares move up for third day in a row
The VN-Index gradually approached 960 points on Monday thanks to a third straight day of gains. 
The benchmark index on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HOSE) gained 0.32 per cent to close at 959.43 points.
Liquidity remained moderate, showing that cash flow is gradually returning. More than 241.5 million shares were traded on the southern bourse, worth VND4.7 trillion (US$201 million).
The benchmark lost 1 per cent overall last week.
The VN30-Index edged down 0.02 per cent to end at 868.20 points.
In the VN30 basket, 17 of the 30 largest stocks by market capitalisation and trading liquidity advanced while twelve declined.
Across the southern exchange, there were 141 gainers and 162 decliners.
Bank for Investment and Development of Viet Nam (BID) and Vietcombank (VCB) were the two strongest on the market, helping maintain the rally. BID recorded an all-time peak of VND44,750 with 2.4 million shares matched. VCB increased by 2.9 per cent to VND90,900 with more than 900,000 shares matched.
Other banking stocks including Techcombank (TCB), Sai Gon Thuong Tin Commercial Joint Stock Bank (STB), Military Bank (MBB), HDBank (HDB) and Vietinbank (CTG) also followed in a positive direction.
However, selling pressure forced stocks including Masan Group (MSN), Hoa Sen Group (HSG), Vinamilk (VNM) and Viet Nam National Petroleum Group (PLX) down.
According to BIDV Securities Co (BSC), the VN-Index's rise was partly affected by information from the Ministry of Finance that China had announced it would reduce taxes on many goods starting from January 1.
“Although this tax reduction is not directly related to negotiations to resolve the trade war with the US, this may be a sign that China will have a more relaxed attitude to trade issues with the US,” BSC said in its report.
Investors also looked for opportunities in small-cap shares, such as F.I.T Group Joint Stock Company (FIT) (+6.9 per cent), Hoang Huy Investment Financial Services JSC (TCH) (+6.9 per cent), Dong A Hotel Group JSC (DAH) (+6.8 per cent), HCD Investment Producing and Trading Joint Stock Company (HCD) (+6.9 per cent) and Techno-Agricultural Supplying Joint Stock Company (TSC) (+6.7 per cent).
On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index slid 0.07 per cent to end Monday at 102.35 points.
More than 42 million shares were traded on the northern market, worth VND475 billion.
The market enjoyed a good session with foreign investors returning as net buyers on the HOSE. They bought net value of VND45.61 billion in shares including VCB (VND33.39 billion), BID (VND33.00 billion) and Hoa Phat Group (HPG) (VND17.86 billion). They were net sellers on the HNX with a value of VND3.68 billion.
