Prices and volumes were both down in Ho Chi Minh City Tuesday, with analysts predicting further pain in the upcoming days.


The VN-Index fell 7.26 points, or 2.31 percent, to 307.45 at the close.


Volume continued to fall, falling to 8.8 million
shares from Monday’s 11.2 million. Losers led gainers by 135 to 13 with
23 remaining unchanged.


“The fundamentals have obviously been weakened,” said
Hoang Xuan Quyen, manager of research and investment at Hanoi-based Tan
Viet Securities Inc.


“First, listed companies’ earnings are expected to fall lower than forecast.


“Second, there is virtually no activity by big players
like investment funds. Individual investors are the major players now,
but they are very cautious given the economic stagnation.


“On the bright side, domestic investors are quite calm as we can see no sell-off of shares.”


Ken Tai Chee Ming, technical analyst for Singapore and
Vietnam at Kim Eng Securities in Singapore, said the VN-Index would
remain on a downtrend and may go below 300 points.


Foreign investors have been selling recently because
they expected the dong to fall further against the dollar and so sold
stocks to buy dollars, he explained.


They continued to be net sellers Tuesday, notching up a negative value of VND39.5 billion (US$2.3 million).


Software maker and mobile phone distributor FPT, Oil
driller PV Drilling, and Song Da Urban & Industrial Zone Investment
and Development Joint Stock Company were among the stocks they dumped.


Binh Dinh Minerals Joint-Stock Company, a miner and
trader of metal ores, rose the most in a week, climbing VND2,000, or
2.9 percent, to close at VND72,000. The Binh Dinh Province


Party office registered to buy 413,000 shares to
increase its holding to more than 19 percent, or about 1.6 million
shares, according to a statement posted on the exchange's website
Monday.


Global stocks


World stock markets tumbled Tuesday, dragged down by
heavy losses the previous day on Wall Street after the US confirmed it
was in recession and a raft of grim data suggested that worse lay
around the corner.


A steep interest rate cut by Australia's central bank
and fresh steps by Japan to tackle the credit crunch failed to soothe
investor fears.


Stocks slumped in Asia, with Tokyo closing down 6.35
percent, Hong Kong sliding 5 percent, Seoul shedding 3.3 percent and
Sydney losing 4.2 percent.


In early European trade, London was down 1.43 percent, Frankfurt lost 1.6 percent and Paris fell 1.41.