The Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange remained bearish
Tuesday, with an investment fund director blaming the continued
downtown on investors’ confidence remaining low after the recent
collapses.


The VN-Index, the gauge of 160 leading firms and four
closed-end funds, continued to fall, losing 6.48 points, or 1.97
percent, to close at 322.8. The trading volume was, however, up
Tuesday, at more than 18 million shares compared with Monday’s 14.7
million. Of the index’s members, 127 declined and 28 rose.


“It is very clear that investor sentiment is the main
driver of the stock market now,” said Nguyen Hai Ha, investment
director of Hanoi Fund Management. “Sentiment among local investors has
been low recently. Most of them do not pay attention to the
fundamentals of listed companies because their main concern is the
situation in the global market, particularly in the US.


“That's why I expect the VN-Index to continue to
decline in the short term. Institutional investors, especially funds,
who have been under pressure to sell assets for cash, have kept selling
shares.


“However, because the prices of many stocks have become very attractive, many close-ended funds have started buying.”


US stocks ended lower on Monday despite news that the
US Treasury was preparing to inject some US$125 billion into nine major
banks this week as part of a massive rescue plan.


The Dow Jones dropped 2.42 percent overnight to end at 8,175.77 points, according to AFP.


Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Joint Stock Bank, the
HCMC exchange’s only listed lender, remained the most active stock by
volume, with more than three million shares changing hands. The
HCMC-based bank, known as Sacombank, closed lower by VND200, or 1.04
percent, at VND19,000.


Sacombank informed the exchange that it has canceled
plans to issue more than 88 million bonus shares to existing
shareholders, three million to its employees and more than 1.2 million
to foreign partners.


The bank also cut this year’s pretax profit target of
VND2 trillion ($119.15 million) to VND1.5 trillion ($90 million),
according to the exchange.


Saigon Telecommunication and Technologies Corp. was
the biggest gainer, advancing VND1,200, or 4.98 percent, to close at
VND25,300. The firm announced on the exchange’s website that Kinh Bac
City Development Share Holding Corp. raised its stake from 18.19
percent to 18.89 percent.


Saigon Maritime Joint Stock Co. Ltd. was the biggest
loser, dropping VND6,600, or 19.7 percent as it went ex-dividend, to
finish at VND26,900. Luu Thi Van, daughter of chairman Luu Tien Ai,
sold all of her stake of 0.075 percent, or 2,252 shares, according to
the exchange’s website.


Foreign investors continued to sell off, notching up
net sales of VND58 billion ($3.5 million). Steel maker Hoa Phat Group,
Pha Lai Thermal Power, shipping firm Gemadept Corp., Vinh Son
Hydropower and Ho Chi Minh City Infrastructure Investment Joint Stock
Co. were among the stocks that bore the brunt of their selling.