HO CHI MINH CITY, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- The Vietnam Stock Index or VN-Index, a capitalization-weighted index of all the companies listed on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange, remained steady this week.
Investors' confidence remained low. According to local stock experts, investors kept cautious because the market is about to enter the year-end holiday. In addition, more and more large-cap stocks attracted the cash flow, thus affecting the demand for traditional stocks.
Large-cap stocks continued to play a key role in keeping the index up in the last trading sessions of the week. Among them were dairy producer Vinamilk (VNM), brewer Sai Gon Beer, Alcohol and Beverage Corporation (SAB), property and retail firm Vingroup (VIC), Vietinbank (CTG), and Saigon-Hanoi Bank (SHB).
The index closed at 664.87 points on Friday, up 0.15 points, or 0.02 percent, from the previous trading day's close. From the previous week's closing session, the index won 0.53 points, or 0.07 percent.
During the week, the index experienced three ups and two downs, posting the highest level of 664.87 points on Friday, and the lowest level of 662.45 points on Monday. In comparison, it ranged between 662.66 points and 674.33 points in the previous week.
About 121.554 million shares worth 2.889 trillion Vietnamese dong (VND) (130.38 million U.S. dollars) changed hands on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange on Friday, an increase of 4.33 percent in volume, and 28.28 percent in value against Thursday.
After the final trading session of 2016, the VN-Index climbed by 85.84 points, or 14.82 percent compared to the last trading session on Dec. 31, 2015.
According to local economic experts, in 2016, Vietnam's stock market had a strong growth. With the strong rise of the newly listed shares, the VN-Index has reached its highest level in four years- 688.89 points on Oct. 19, 2016.
According to the report by Vietnam National Financial Supervisory Commission, the market capitalization increased from 32.4 percent of GDP in 2015 to around 40 percent of GDP in 2016. Meanwhile, the capital raised through share auctions in 2016 increased 43.1 percent compared to the same period of 2015.
The average value of daily transactions on Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HSX) reached 109 million U.S. dollars in 2016, according to data by Bloomberg.
In the new year, Vietnam's stock market will pick up big listed enterprises, including national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines, and the Vietnam Textile and Garment Corporation (Vinatex).
The market will continue to make new breakthroughs in 2017, predicted international stock experts.
