All but one of the 164 listed securities on the Ho Chi
Minh Stock Exchange rose by the maximum allowed 5 percent Tuesday in
the wake of strong global gains.


The VN-Index of 160 leading firms and four closed-end
funds rose 17.66 points, or 4.75 percent, to close at 389.33. Food
processing firm Safoco was the only stock not to advance by 5 percent;
it rose by just 4.08 percent.


But a lack of selling saw trading volume slump sharply to nine million shares from Monday’s 13.7 million.


“The recovery of international markets boosted
domestic mood,” said Nguyen Hai Son, a broker at FPT Securities Co. He
expected the VNIndex to end the week at 420-430 points.


Global markets soared for a second day running
Tuesday, with Tokyo posting its biggest-ever gain after governments
worldwide threw lifelines to ailing banks.


It closed up by a record 14.15 percent as Japan
unveiled market-stabilizing measures, including a relaxation of
restrictions on corporate share buybacks. Sydney closed up 3.7 percent
on Tuesday and Seoul climbed 6.1 percent.


In Europe, the London stock market was 3.40 percent
higher in early trading. The Paris stock market jumped 4.18percent, a
day after rising more than 11 percent, its largest ever one-day gain,
Frankfurt was 3.14-percent higher early on, Madrid gained 3.31 percent
and Zurich rose 3.74.


US President George W. Bush and Treasury Secretary
Henry Paulson were both due to make statements Tuesday on the action
being taken by Washington and other major governments.


“Besides the positive performance of international
markets, investors were also upbeat over good third quarter results,”
Son said.


He said foreign investors sold heavily Tuesday, making
up 73 percent of the market’s overall selling. “It wasn’t a sign of
withdrawal,” he said. “Foreigners, particularly institutional
investors, are restructuring their portfolio.”


Foreign players were net sellers, notching up a net
negative figure of VND184 billion (US$11 million). They sold vegetable
oil maker Tuong An, industrial zone operator Tan Tao, Pha Lai Thermal
Power, rubber producer Tay Ninh and Seafood Joint Stock Co. No. 4.


Ho Quoc Tuan, an analyst at HCMC-based Viet Dragon
Securities Co., said: “The global financial crisis has made foreign
funds more cautious and prudent with their investments. So they are
trying to sell their shares and hold on to cash to wait for better
opportunities.”


Tuan said domestic investors tend to panic when they
see foreign investors selling stocks and stock indexes falling
worldwide. “The possibility of an electricity-price increase and the
imposition of personal income tax on earnings from share trading may
also make the situation worse,” he said. “The market may drop more this
week.”


Tuan also suggested it may be worthwhile to look at
opportunities at around the 300 to 360 level on the VNIndex in the
short term.


“From a long-term perspective, it is better to wait
until there is more information about inflation, the trade deficit, the
performance of the banking system and the real-estate market,
power-price increases, and the effect of global demand and the new
personal income tax on share earnings,” he said.


“If stocks of some good Vietnamese companies are still
being traded at low levels at the end of this year, I would see it as
an opportunity.”


Vegetable oil producer Tuong An, which rose VND1,900,
or 4.95 percent, to close at VND40,300, was the most active stock, with
more than one million shares changing hands.