Both bourses completed the last week of the month
showing falls in many shares. The VN-Index closed yesterday at 447.11,
a drop of 0.94 per cent.


Of the 160 listed shares in HCM City, there were 63 gainers, eight remained unchanged and 89 were losers.


Some blue chips continued falling. Saigon Securities
Inc (SSI) hit the floor to end at VND39,800 a share, followed by STB
(Sacombank), VNM (Vinamilk), PVD (PV Drilling), ITA (Tan Tao Industrial
Park) and VPL (Vinpearl).


STB, the most active share during the week, also hit
the floor to close at VND22,900 a share. A total of 2.9 million shares
changed hands.


Strong increases were also recorded in blue-chips,
such as the Corporation for Financing and Promoting Technology (FPT)
and Hoa Phat (HPG) and Phu My Fertiliser (DPM).


In HCM City, Bach Tuyet Cotton Corporation (BBT),
which is on the verge of bankruptcy, yesterday sold only 60 shares
mostly at floor prices.


Recently, BBT shareholders forced a reshuffle in the
corporation’s board and urged those responsible for the company’s
dismal first-half performance to take urgent action.


An investor with VNDirect said the downward trend of BBT would continue if the corporation cannot repay its debt.


Manh Ha, an investor with SeaBank Securities, said
that after four consecutive upward trends, the downward move of the
VN-index was not unusual as it was at 450 points, considered a
reasonable level.


Quang Minh, an investor with Vietcombank Securities,
expected little change in August trading. He predicted that this would
make stock prices less attractive compared to June, adding that trends
in the market would rely on macro-economic factors.


The Ha Noi bourse saw a strong decrease of 2.87 points
and closed at 140.45 points. More than 5.2 million shares were traded
worth a total of VND168.9 billion.


There were 45 gainers, 85 losers, two share prices remained unchanged and 14 were inactive.


Foreigners were net buyers of 276,100 shares worth
VND12.63 billion, while they sold 100,200 shares worth more than VND4
billion.