VN-Index Tops 1,850, but Three-Quarters of Listed Stocks Still Look Weak

The VN-Index closed above 1,850 points, but the market’s headline advance concealed a much weaker performance among most individual stocks. After Vietnam’s holiday break, the exchange held only two sessions, on September 3 and 4, and the index finished the week at 1,853.08 points, up 20.96 points, or 1.14%, from the end of August.

The index rose 25.36 points, or 1.39%, on September 4 alone. Vingroup shares gained 4.74% and contributed about 19.36 points, while Vinhomes rose 2.45% and added 3.11 points. Together, the two stocks accounted for nearly 89% of the session’s increase.

Vingroup shares briefly reached 260,000 VND, their highest level on record, before closing at 256,100 VND. Sacombank also reached a record since its listing, touching 77,400 VND before ending at 77,300 VND, up 3.76%. The concentration was also clear across market-cap groups. The VN30 index rose 1.19%, while the mid-cap and small-cap indexes fell 0.23% and 0.18%. Trading value in the VN30 basket reached nearly 8.67 trillion VND, more than 63% of total trading value on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange.

The index has shown stronger technical momentum. It closed about 4.2% above its 20-day moving average and 3.9% above its 200-day average. From 1,726.69 points on August 19, it gained more than 126 points, or 7.3%, in only 10 trading sessions.

That rise has not spread across the market. Only 40.7% of stocks were above their 20-day average, 36.7% were above their 50-day average, 28.4% were above their 100-day average, and 24.9% were above their 200-day average. In the VN30, 46.7% of stocks stood above the 200-day average, compared with only 17.9% among mid-cap stocks. The figures point to a recovery led by large companies rather than a broad-based advance.