VN30 index spreads green, foreign capital reverses course amidst tug-of-war.

The trading session on December 15th presented a mixed picture for the stock market. While the VN-Index declined slightly, foreign capital unexpectedly reversed course and made strong net purchases, focusing on securities stocks and several key blue-chips. This development helped stabilize market sentiment somewhat after a series of volatile sessions, although the overall trend remained cautious and indecisive.

Blue-chip stocks maintain market momentum, foreign investors return to net buying of nearly 700 billion VND.

At the close of trading, the VN-Index fell 0.88 points, or 0.05%, to 1,646.01 points. While not a significant drop in points, it clearly reflected the weakening demand as the index repeatedly attempted to surpass the reference level but failed. On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index fell 0.72 points (-0.29%) to 249.37 points, while the UPCoM-Index lost 0.71 points (-0.6%) to 118.55 points. Total market liquidity reached nearly 19,927 billion VND, remaining at a relatively high level but lacking the necessary breakout signal to establish a clear trend.

The most notable highlight of the session came from foreign investors' trading activity. On the HoSE exchange, foreign investors made net purchases of 696 billion VND, with a net buying volume of over 33 million shares. Specifically, foreign investors bought over 101.9 million shares and sold approximately 68.9 million shares. The focus of investment was heavily concentrated on securities stocks and several large-cap, high-liquidity stocks such as TCX (168.64 billion VND), VIX (153.69 billion VND), HPG (135.22 billion VND), VPB (103.34 billion VND), SSI (94.97 billion VND), VHM (85.51 billion VND), VNM (83.52 billion VND), and BSR (82.45 billion VND). This indicates a selective investment strategy, prioritizing leading stocks or those with specific supporting stories.

Conversely, net selling pressure remained strong in several large-cap stocks. VIC saw net selling of VND 246.76 billion, becoming the biggest drag on the index. In addition, MSN was net sold for VND 75.04 billion, MWG for VND 73.10 billion, MBB for VND 88.97 billion, VCB for VND 56.82 billion, and TCB for VND 50.73 billion. The fact that foreign investors were net buyers overall but still heavily sold some blue-chip stocks indicates caution and a reluctance to heavily bet on a sustainable upward trend for the market.

In the blue-chip group, despite the negative impact from the trio of VPL, VIC, and VHM, the VN30 basket still showed a fairly positive trend. The VN30-Index closed slightly higher by 0.15% (+2.81 points), with 15 gainers and 9 losers. Leading the gains was VRE, closing up 5.28%, although slightly weaker than in the morning. VPB surged 3.58%, VNM increased 2.99%, STB 1.74%, GAS 1.31%, GVR 1.19%, SSI 1.07%, DGC 1.09%, and SAB 1% were the most prominent stocks. Notably, only VPB was among the top 10 by market capitalization, indicating that the upward momentum didn't come from the largest stocks but spread to the mid-cap blue-chip group.

Conversely, VHM and VIC continued to exert significant pressure. VHM fell from its reference price to a 1.7% decrease, while VIC closed down 0.76%. These two stocks deducted more than 3.3 points from the VN30-Index, thus hindering the overall index's recovery. However, the breadth of the VN30 basket still showed a much more positive state compared to the morning, reflecting a certain improvement in investor sentiment.

Looking at the sector, finance and banking continued to play a crucial supporting role, but significant divergence occurred. On the positive side, VPB became the biggest bright spot with a 3.58% increase, contributing significantly to curbing the decline of the VN-Index. Similarly, VCI increased by 1.99%, SSI by 1.07%, STB by 1.74%, and CTG edged up slightly by 0.4%. Conversely, downward pressure continued to weigh on many large-cap stocks such as MBB down 1.04%, HDB down 0.66%,SHB down 0.63%, VIB down 0.87%, while EIB fell by as much as 2.66% and VPX lost nearly 4%.

The real estate sector continued to be the main drag on the market, with red dominating. Besides VIC and VHM, a series of stocks experienced sharp declines, including DIG (-3.32%), DXG (-2.69%), PDR (-3.55%), and especially CEO, which fell by as much as 5.43%, reflecting strong profit-taking pressure and cautious sentiment among investors towards highly speculative stocks. The only bright spots were VRE, which rose 5.28%, and VPI, which increased 3.33%.

Meanwhile, the industrial and materials sector performed more positively, contributing to market balance. HPG rose 0.96%, DGC 1.09%, PC1 2.91%, KBC 2.32%, and notably TCX surged 6.61%, becoming one of the most outstanding gainers of the session. The energy sector also showed positive signs with BSR up 6.67%, PVS up 2.65%, and PVD up 2.54%.

Overall, although the breadth of the HoSE market at the end of the session still leaned towards the downside (126 gainers/188 losers), the market began to show clear differentiation. Capital flow tended to favor blue-chip stocks, especially the VN30 basket, which accounted for 61.1% of the total trading value on the HoSE, even though liquidity in this group remained lower than the average of previous sessions. The recovery of blue-chip stocks, while not explosive, played a crucial role in helping the VN-Index "relieve panic" from the pressure of sharply falling leading stocks.

With the VN-Index continuing to fluctuate around the 1,640-1,650 point range, the market is assessed to be in a state of "hesitation and uncertainty." In the short term, the trend is likely to remain within a narrow range with strong differentiation between sectors and individual stocks. The appropriate strategy for investors is to maintain caution, control stock holdings appropriately, avoid chasing rallies, and closely monitor the actions of foreign investors as well as the index's reaction at key support and resistance levels.

Source: https://thoibaonganhang.vn/vn30-lan-toa-sac-xanh-dong-von-ngoai-dao-chieu-giua-the-giang-co-175176.html