The Vietnam stock market continued on its upwards trajectory in December, though as has been the case over the last twelve months, largely driven by just a handful of stocks.
This article looks at key data points and developments in the securities sector in December.
What did the VN-Index do in December?
In December, the VN-Index gained 94 points. It opened at 1,690.99 points on December 1, closing the month out at 1,784.
What did the VN-30 do in December?
The VN30 gained 106.31 points in December. It went from 1,923.92 points at the start of the month to 2,030.63 points by the end.
The biggest gainers in the VN-30 were Vinhomes adding 21.10 points, Sacombank up 9.4 points, PV Gas up 9 points, Mobile World Group up 8.5 points, and Vietjet Aviation with a 5.5 point gain.
Market capitalisation
The Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange gained VND 764,319 billion (US$29 billion) in market capitalisation in December.
This brought the total value of the exchange by the end of the month to VND 8,310,145 billion (US$315.4 billion)
This was up from VND 5,157,795 billion (US$195.7 billion) at the start of the year, representing a gain of VND 3,152,350 billion (US$119.6 billion).
Foreign trading activity
Foreign traders spent VND 71,431,594 million (US$2.7 billion) on Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange shares. They also sold VND 69,089,185 million (US$2.62 billion) worth of shares for a net-buy of 2,342,409 million or US$88.9 million.
This was the first month since May that foreign traders have bought more than they have sold and only the second time in the last twelve months.
In total, foreign traders net-sold VND 125,496,663 million (US$4.76 billion) worth of stocks in 2025).
How did the Vietnamese dong perform?
The State Bank of Vietnam allowed the Vietnamese dong to strengthen in December. The central exchange rate set by the bank went from 25,156 to the dollar at the start of the month to 25,121 at the end.
The black market mid-market rate also strengthened from 27,670 to the dollar on December 1 to 26,785 by December 31.
Liquidity
Daily liquidity on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange trended down in December, averaging VND 19,576,564 million (US$742.94 million) a day. This was down from VND 20,089,406 million (US$762.41 million) a day in November.
This was also significantly lower than the average daily liquidity for 2025, which came in at VND 23,664,922 million (US$898.10 million). It was, however, significantly higher than December 2024, which saw an average daily liquidity of VND 12,356,515 million (US$468.94 million).
Inflation
Vietnam’s Consumer Price Index rose 0.19 percent in December from the previous month, driven mainly by higher food prices and dining costs, according to the latest release from Vietnam’s National Statistics Office.
Compared with December last year, the CPI increased by 3.48 percent, while the average CPI for the fourth quarter of 2025 rose 3.44 percent year on year.
Outlook January
Heading into January, in the lead up to the Lunar New Year break in mid-February it would be reasonable to expect that firms focused on the domestic market should see a boost in revenues, particularly in the food and beverage sector.
Of note, the Communist Party of Vietnam’s 14th National Congress will take place from the 19th to the 25th. The outcomes of the congress seem to be already decided, with the general message for investors that they should generally expect business as usual. It may, however, still be worth monitoring for any last minute changes.