VN-Index surges thanks to widespread bargain-hunting.

The trading session on December 16th closed with a remarkable reversal in the Vietnamese stock market. After a morning of fluctuations and a brief pullback to the support level around 1,630 points, the VN-Index unexpectedly accelerated in the afternoon, closing at 1,679.18 points, up more than 33 points from the previous session. On other exchanges, the HNX-Index rose nearly 6 points, while the UPCoM-Index fell 0.25 points.

The wind shifted direction on the HoSE, VN30 stocks all rose, and the VN-Index approached the 1,680 point mark, marking the ex-dividend date for bank stocks.

The highlight of the session was the improvement in liquidity. The total market trading value reached over 25,000 billion VND, with the HoSE exchange alone recording nearly 20,600 billion VND. Compared to the gloomy atmosphere of many recent sessions, the money flow in this session showed a clear return of proactive buying, especially in the latter half of the afternoon.

While the morning session ended in red with 89 gainers and 191 losers, the trend reversed rapidly within the first 30 minutes of the afternoon session. By the close, market breadth was overwhelming with 253 gainers and 66 losers. No sudden positive news emerged during the day, but the consensus was evident in all three factors: significantly improved market breadth, increased liquidity, and a broad-based price increase.

Cash flow was clearly concentrated in mid- and small-cap stocks, with a large proportion of the total trading value showing gains exceeding 2%. On the HoSE, from only 43 stocks gaining more than 1% at the end of the morning session, the number had risen by more than 1% by the close, with 115 of them exceeding 2%. Conversely, the number of stocks declining by more than 1% significantly decreased.

Notably, the VN-Index's increase of +2.02% (+33.17 points) was considered the strongest in 24 sessions. However, the upward momentum did not come from the "leading stocks" pushing the index to its maximum limit, but mainly from broad spread, especially in the banking, securities, real estate, and oil and gas sectors.

The VN30 basket recorded a positive trend as most stocks rose compared to the morning closing price; the benchmark index closed up 2.14%, with 26 gainers and 2 losers. Two standout performers were HDB and SSI.

HDB maintained its ceiling price of VND 32,100/share as the stock approached the record date for dividend payments and the plan for a capital increase through share issuance. SSI cooled down slightly from its earlier surge, but still rose 6.5% to VND 30,250/share, with over 32 million units traded, ranking among the market's leading stocks in terms of liquidity.

The consensus is evident across the industry groups:

- Real estate: DXG +5.8%, KDH +6.8%, TCH +5.9%, KBC +4.2%, SCR +5.8%, NLG +3.2%, VHM +2.7%…

- Banks: MBB +3%, TCB +3.1%, CTG +2.6%, LPB +3.9%,VIB +2.3%…

- Stocks: SSI +6.5%, VIX +5.1%, SHS +5.4%, HCM +3.3%, MBS +3.4%…

Many other stocks also rose sharply, contributing to strengthening sentiment: MWG +5.5%, VNM +3.6%, HAG +5.9%, HUT +7.8%, DGW +5%, PVS +3.6%, SAB +2.4%, HSG +2.3%… The market also recorded many stocks hitting the ceiling price with high liquidity such as HDB, VPL, GEX, EIB, BSR , CII, PVD, VND.

The strong rally also helped the VN-Index partially relieve pressure after a correction period, during which the index had fallen nearly 100 points from its peak of 1,745 points in early December. Bottom-buying is considered the main driving force behind this recovery.

Foreign investors traded over VND 7,500 billion and net sold over VND 126 billion (some market-wide statistics show a net selling of approximately VND 75 billion across all three exchanges). Prior to this, this group had net bought over VND 660 billion in the preceding session, while last week they net sold nearly VND 6,000 billion, indicating that trading activity remains highly volatile in line with market trends.

Notable stocks experiencing net selling included VIC (VND 167 billion), VCB (VND 153 billion), DGC (VND 122 billion); along with SGB, MSN, STB, VCI,FPT , VRE… On the net buying side, TCX led with nearly VND 150 billion, followed by MWG (VND 113 billion); VIX and BSR with over VND 80 billion; SSI, VNM, and CTG with over VND 70 billion; and KDH with over VND 50 billion.

Despite the market surge, some stocks bucked the trend. DGC (Duc Giang Chemicals) dropped to its floor price of 86,500 VND/share early in the day, its lowest level since April 2025. DGC's trading volume surged with over 18.5 million shares changing hands (approximately 5% of outstanding shares), setting a record for liquidity since its listing, and at the close of trading, there were still over 5.3 million shares offered for sale at the floor price. Notably, the company has not recently released any significant news.

VPS Securities' newly listed stock also attracted attention with a sharp 15.3% drop, closing at VND 50,800/share on its first day of trading on the HoSE. The stock debuted at a reference price of VND 60,000/share (IPO price), with a listed volume of over 1.48 billion units, corresponding to a charter capital of over VND 14,800 billion, and a 20% trading range on the first day. Following the IPO, the company will continue to implement a private placement of 161.85 million shares, expected to be offered in the VND 50,000 – VND 65,000/share range.

Another stock that hit the floor limit was QCG (Quoc Cuong Gia Lai), falling to 17,500 VND/share, after a series of four consecutive sessions of hitting the ceiling limit. A notable recent development is that the investigating agency has completed its conclusions and recommended the prosecution of Ms. Nguyen Thi Nhu Loan – former Chairwoman and CEO – for the crime of “violating regulations on the management and use of state assets…”, with damages estimated at over 542 billion VND. Ms. Loan remains the largest shareholder, holding nearly 102 million shares, equivalent to over 37% of the charter capital.

Although the strong rally relieved the correction pressure, some experts note the risk that this is merely a technical rebound, given that the market is about to enter the derivatives expiration session on Thursday. Overall, the trend of the VN-Index is considered unclear, with some even warning of the possibility of forming a "double top" pattern, accompanied by early signals from momentum indicators.

Regarding liquidity, Dr. Nguyen Duy Phuong, Investment Director of DG Capital, believes the market is facing greater competitive pressure from other investment channels. Deposit interest rates have increased since the beginning of November, with one-year maturities commonly around 4.7% at the Big Four; while the bond market has also heated up again with large-scale issuances. However, from a valuation perspective, the VN-Index is currently trading around a projected 2026 P/E ratio of approximately 11.7 times, considered attractive for medium- and long-term investors. To form a more sustainable upward trend, the market needs a sufficiently strong catalyst.

In that context, the December 16th session was seen as a psychological boost: capital showed a willingness to enter the market when prices were deeply discounted, but a sustainable recovery still needs more time to be verified.

Source: https://thoibaonganhang.vn/vn-index-bat-manh-nho-dong-tien-bat-day-lan-toa-175235.html