Oil and gas stocks surged today, driven by strong domestic investor demand after a period of quiet activity. All component stocks reversed from declines to gains during the session as the Middle East conflict quickly escalated.
GAS and PLX, two leading oil and gas stocks, closed up about 1,5% above their reference prices. BSR, the operator of the Dung Quat oil refinery, also extended its gains with a 6% increase to 26,750 VND. Mid-cap stocks such as PVC, PVT, POW, and OIL accumulated gains of 1-4% compared to their reference points.
This sector attracted significant capital from domestic investors, with a total matched order value exceeding 2,000 billion VND, accounting for approximately 10% of the market's overall liquidity. BSR led the surge, with nearly 25 million shares successfully traded, totaling 645 billion VND. POW, PVT, and PVS attracted between 200 and 400 billion VND each.
The oil and gas sector had three representatives among the top 10 stocks positively impacting the VN-Index. This group helped the index, representing the Ho Chi Minh City exchange, increase by nearly 21 points, reaching close to 1,875 points—its highest level in the past two months.
In contrast to oil and gas stocks, most other sectors faced intense selling pressure. The banking sector, for instance, saw two-thirds of its stocks close below their reference prices, with declines ranging from 1% to 2%. SHB led the downward adjustment with a 2,4% drop, followed by ACB, EIB, OCB, and VCB. VPB and LPB were the exceptions in this group, both rising over 2% compared to their reference points.
Within the real estate sector, Novaland continued to experience a sell-off, hitting its floor price of 17,800 VND. The stock closed with no buyers, while the volume of shares waiting to be sold at the floor price reached 44,6 million units. Shares of other developers, including Nam Long, Khang Dien, DIC Corp, and TTC Land, also lost over 2%.
Steel sector stocks also declined. NKG lost 2,4%, while HPG fell over 1%. Similarly, the securities sector recorded more declining stocks than rising ones.
The main impetus for the VN-Index's surge came from the Vingroup conglomerate. All four of its component stocks closed with gains, with VHM briefly touching its ceiling price of nearly 152,000 VND. According to statistics from VNDirect Securities Company, the Vingroup cluster contributed over 21 points to the overall index. This means that without Vingroup, the index would have seen a significant decline.
Liquidity on the Ho Chi Minh City exchange reached over 22,500 billion VND today, a slight increase from the previous session. Beyond oil and gas, investors also focused on disbursing funds into leading banking and real estate stocks, including SHB, ACB, VHM, VIC, and NVL.
According to analysts from MB Securities Company, the stock market is entering an "information trough" following the annual general meeting season, making the index more sensitive to real economic data. Investors are advised to exercise caution, prioritizing observation over new disbursements. Focusing on stocks with intrinsic growth potential, rather than betting on the overall index, is considered key to protecting gains during a market phase that appears strong but has underlying weaknesses.
"Caution at the 1,900-point level is necessary to await clearer trend confirmation this month," the analysis group stated.
Phuong Dong
