Vietnam's VN-Index Sees Modest Gains

The VN-Index closed 0.75 points higher, following an 8.35-point gain in the previous session. Trading on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange decreased by 11% to VND11.965 trillion (US$471.2 million).

The VN-30 basket, which includes the 30 largest capped stocks, saw gains in 9 tickers. Notably, BVH of insurance company Bao Viet Holdings rose 3.2%, VCB of state-owned lender Vietcombank went up 1.0%, and HPG of steelmaker Hoa Phat Group closed 0.6% higher. However, 17 blue chips fell, with MSN of conglomerate Masan Group sliding 0.8%, VIB of Vietnam International Commercial Bank dropping 0.79%, and FPT of IT giant FPT Corporation seeing a 0.77% decline.

Foreign investors were net sellers to the tune of VND305 billion, mainly selling FPT and MSN.

Regional and Global Stock Market Performance

The HNX-Index for stocks on the Hanoi Stock Exchange, home to mid and small caps, rose 0.30%, while the UPCoM-Index for the Unlisted Public Companies Market went down 0.32%. Globally, stocks edged up on Monday, with the MSCI All-World index up 0.1%. U.S. stock futures were down 0.1-0.2%, suggesting a modestly lower start following Friday's holiday-shortened session in which the major indices scored record-high closes.

The euro fell as a threat from France's far right to collapse its government kept European markets under pressure. Meanwhile, tech stocks lifted global shares, and the dollar firmed in a key week for the U.S. interest rate outlook. In Asia, Chinese shares got an additional boost from a robust reading in a private manufacturing survey on Monday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng inched up 0.16%, while mainland Chinese blue chips rose 0.6%.