Blue-chips underperform as steel tariff news weighs on sentiment

Blue-chips underperform as steel tariff news weighs on sentiment

The underwhelming performance of large-cap stocks once again weighed on the market's breakout potential.

Hot-rolled steel coil storage yard of Hoa Sen Group. — Photo hoasengroup.vn

Việt Nam’s stock market paused its recent uptrend on Wednesday, weighed down by news of the United States doubling import tariffs on aluminium and steel to 50 per cent, effective June 4.

The news exerted mild pressure on steel stocks and contributed to a cautious market tone, particularly among large-cap shares.

Shares of major steel producers fell slightly, with Hòa Phát Group (HPG) down 0.19 per cent and Hoa Sen Group (HSG) losing 1.22 per cent. However, Hoa Sen Group affirmed that the new US tariffs would not affect its operations.

A company representative said: “Since September 2024, Hoa Sen Group has suspended exports of galvanised steel products to the US market due to anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations. Therefore, the new tariff policy does not affect our current business results.”

Despite halting shipments to the US, the group’s performance remains stable. In the first seven months of the 2024–25 fiscal year, Hoa Sen recorded production of 1.1 million tonnes (57 per cent of its annual plan), revenue of VNĐ21.9 trillion (58 per cent of the plan), and profit after tax reaching VNĐ460 billion (92 per cent of its high-case target).

Against that backdrop, the VN-Index failed to surpass its recent peak despite early gains. It climbed past the 1,350-point mark in the morning but reversed course in the afternoon as selling pressure increased. At the close, the benchmark VN-Index lost 1.51 points, or 0.11 per cent, to 1,345.74. Market breadth remained balanced with 153 advancers and 151 decliners.

Liquidity on the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) dropped 8.9 per cent from the previous session to VNĐ23.4 trillion (approximately US$897.6 million).

The VN30-Index, tracking the 30 largest listed companies by market capitalisation, also declined 2.59 points, or 0.18 per cent, to 1,435.28. Within the basket, 21 stocks advanced, six fell, and three remained flat.

Among the top losers were PetroVietnam Gas (GAS), down 1.52 per cent; Vinhomes (VHM), off 0.64 per cent; and Techcombank (TCB), down 0.79 per cent.

Conversely, Vinamilk (VNM) gained 2.52 per cent and Eximbank (EIB) surged 6.48 per cent, jointly adding nearly 1.5 points to the index.

Analysts at SHS Securities said: “The short-term uptrend of VN-Index remains intact as long as the index stays above the nearest support level of 1,330 points, with stronger support around 1,300 points. If successfully retested, the index could extend gains to the 1,370–1,380 range, in line with the trendline connecting the peaks of 2023, 2024 and March 2025.”

On the Hà Nội Stock Exchange (HNX), the HNX-Index rose 1.89 points, or 0.83 per cent, to 230.83. Total trading value on the northern bourse reached VNĐ1.6 trillion with more than 93 million shares traded. 

Bizhub