Continuing worries about the global financial crisis
saw a sell-off in Ho Chi Minh City stocks Thursday, sending them
crashing to their lowest level this year.


The VN-Index, Vietnam’s main stock index, closed 14.48
points, or 3.86 percent, down at 360.43. The index, a gauge of 160
companies and four closed-end funds, had reached its previous lowest of
366 points in June. It has plunged 61 percent this year.


Signs of the sell-off became apparent at the opening
bell and the selling pressure never let up until the close, during
which time 147 stocks declined, 126 by the daily maximum limit of 5
percent. Trading volume was 13.5 million shares.


“Foreigners, who panicked at the steep falls in
international markets, dumped shares of large caps,” Nguyen Hai Son, a
broker at FPT Securities Corp., said. “Domestic investors, who are
braced for further falls, did not buy.”


Hoang Thach Lan, chief analyst at HCMC-based SME
Securities, told Thanh Nien Daily that the technical charts show that
Thursday’s slump is a sign of dramatic weakness in the market.


Foreign investors have been selling since early this
month, notching up a total negative figure of VND85 billion (US$5
million). PetroVietnam Fertilizer and Chemical Joint Stock Co., dairy
maker Vinamilk, industrial zone operator Tan Tao, Pha Lai Thermal Power
and oil drilling PV Drilling were among the stocks they sold Thursday.


Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Joint Stock Bank, the
exchange’s only listed lender, was the most active stock by volume,
with nearly 2 million shares being traded. Sacombank, as it is known,
lost VND1,100, or 5 percent, to close at VND20,900.


Industrial zone operator Tan Tao was the best performer, gaining VND1,600, or 4.95 percent, to finish at


VND33,900. General deputy director Nguyen Thi Suong
registered to buy one million shares to raise her stake from 690 shares
to 1,000,690 before December 31, according to a report on the
exchange’s website Thursday.


Asia stocks at four-year low as global economy slows


Asian stocks fell to a four-year low Thursday on
growing fears emerging market weakness will prolong a global recession
and depress corporate earnings, pushing the yen to a six-year high
against the euro.


European stock futures were down slightly, helped by a rise in US stock futures.


Investors have mostly sought refuge in government debt
of the euro zone, Japan and the US as well as the yen, after credit
market stabilization in the last week unearthed a renewed focus on the
adverse impact of the financial crisis on real economies, especially in
emerging markets.


The cost of insurance against sovereign debt default
in countries such as South Korea, Indonesia and the Philippines soared,
with a sense of panic festering two days after Argentina moved to
nationalize its pension system. The step was interpreted by investors
as a desperate measure to stave off default.


Markets in developing countries, especially those that
depend on portfolio (or securities market investments) flows to balance
their current accounts, were abandoned overnight, with almost no one
spared from a sharp slowdown in the global economy that has pushed
crude prices below $70 a barrel and dragged copper prices to a
three-year low.


The outlook for export-dependent Asian economies
darkened, hitting the shares of many high-profile companies that have
staked their business on overseas sales, such as Samsung Electronics
and Canon Inc.


“Even after a series of concerted efforts by
governments to stabilize the financial markets, it seems that the
global economy is still under pressure and will likely slip into a
recession,” said Daniel Chan, senior investment strategist at DBS Bank
in Hong Kong.


The MSCI index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan fell 5.5 percent to its lowest since October 2004.


The global emerging markets index was down 3.7 percent
to a near four-year low, and its 35 percent drop so far in October has
outpaced the 25 percent decline on the all-country world index.


Japan’s Nikkei share average fell 2.5 percent, though
it was down as much as 7 percent earlier in the session. The index cut
losses as US stock futures extended gains following a story in the Wall
Street Journal saying the government will consider a $40 billion plan
to slow home foreclosures.


South Korea’s KOSPI index fell 7.4 percent, led by shares of Samsung Electronics and steel producer POSCO.


Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was down 4.7 percent at the lowest level since April 2005.


Some property stocks managed to gain after the Chinese
government late on Wednesday announced policies to increase
homeownership. China Overseas Land’s stock rose 2.1 percent, despite a
6.8 percent drop in mainland Chinese stocks listed in Hong Kong.


“Thursday’s move can be considered part of an overall
effort to give a light stimulus to the economy, but in my view is
primarily focused on the real estate sector. These changes also
illustrate that the Party is capable of taking proactive steps to deal
with a changing economic environment,” said Andy Rothman, China macro
strategist with CLSA in Shanghai.


“A good time to look at residential developer stocks,” he said in a report.