Vietnam Daily Market Recap December 18, 2024 – GAS, VHM & KDH Updates, PVB Analyst Note

Stocks rise, led by O&G, industrials

The VN-Index rose strongly in the morning session on Wednesday, dipped mid-session, and rebounded to close up 0.3% at 1,266. The HNX-Index followed a similar trend, with selling pressure mid-session briefly turning the index red before it ended the day with a slight increase of 0.2%, closing at 227.43.

Oil & Gas (+2.0%, see our analyst note below), Industrial Goods & Services (+0.6%), and Utilities (+0.4%) led the market higher, while Retail (-0.01%) was flat.

HAX (+4.3%) jumped following the announcement that PYN Elite Fund had acquired 935,200 shares of this stock. This raised PYN Elite’s holdings from 5,171,200 shares (4.8%) to 6,106,400 shares (5.7%). HAX’s 3Q24 revenue grew 38% to VND1.5tn (USD60.4mn), while profit after tax surged 983% from VND8.3bn (USD300,000) to VND90.3bn (USD3.6mn).

The State Securities Commission of Vietnam (SSC) recently requested that HoSE, HNX, and VSDC implement the new KRX information technology system next year. This system, designed by the Korea Exchange (KRX), offers new features, notably allowing odd-lot trading on a separate board and same-day stock trading (T+0). These updates could attract more investors and boost market liquidity. Initially expected in 2021, KRX implementation has faced delays and remains pending.

Tonight’s Fed meeting will set the tone for global monetary policy in 2025. While markets expect a 25 basis point rate cut and the DXY has been stable at the 107 level, Powell’s stance and the revised dot plot will be in full focus. As 2024 draws to a close, the global monetary landscape has shifted significantly with 183 rate cuts compared to only 30 rate hikes, a stark contrast to 2023, which saw 161 rate hikes and only 84 rate cuts. Whether this trend will continue into 2025 remains a question, largely dependent on the Fed’s monetary policy stance tonight. Anything other than a 25 basis point cut will move global equity markets tomorrow, including Vietnam’s.

Top performers today included HPG (+1.3%), BID (+0.5%), GAS (+0.7%), and LPB (+1.4%). Meanwhile, top laggards were VHM (-1.0%) and VJC (-0.9%).

Foreign investors were net sellers today, with a net outflow of VND6.1bn (USD0.2mn). Selling momentum was concentrated on MWG (VND71.1bn, USD2.8mn) and VRE (VND57.4bn, USD2.3mn), while buying momentum focused on FPT (VND95.9bn, USD3.8mn), HPG (VND59.5bn, USD2.3mn), DBC (VND57.7bn, USD2.3mn) and HDB (VND66.1bn, USD2.6mn).

Read the full report: HERE