Ho Chi Minh City stocks Tuesday rose for the first
time in seven sessions after a bailout of US banking giant Citigroup
triggered a strong rebound overnight on Wall Street.


The VN-Index gained 2.4 points, or 0.75 percent, to close at 320.33 points.


Hoang Thach Lan, manager of Analysis and Investment at
SME Securities in HCMC, said though investor sentiment was buoyant in
the first session thanks to two straight days of gains on the US
market, doubts began to set in about the US stocks’ rebound.


He said though many stocks have now fallen below their
book value and even par value (VND10,000), investors remain cautious
about buying.


Though last week the central bank lowered the key
interest rate that guides deposit and lending interest rates by 1
percent to 11 percent, Lan said the rate cut would not have an
immediate impact on businesses’ costs but only next year.


He added that worries about the global economic crunch had a strong influence on the local stock market.


Trading volume Tuesday plummeted to 11.3 million
shares from Monday’s 13.3 million. Of the index members, 84 gained, 53
fell and 33 remained unchanged.


Foreign investors were net sellers to the tune of
VND31 billion (US$1.8 million). Some blue chips like Vinamilk and
Saigon Securities Inc. were among the stocks they dumped.


Stock performances


PetroVietnam Fertilizer & Chemical Joint-Stock
Company rose for the first time in seven days, gaining VND200, or 0.5
percent, to VND37,400. The HCMC-based company said Tuesday its pretax
profit may rise 59 percent to VND1.75 trillion ($103 million) this
year, from VND1.1 trillion a year earlier thanks to an increase in
fertilizer prices.


Tan Binh Electronics Joint-Stock Company, or
Viettronics Tan Binh, climbed by VND700, or the daily allowed limit of
5 percent, the most since September 4, to VND14,900. The company will
pay a dividend of VND600 per share on December 29.


PetroVietnam Drilling and Well Services Joint-Stock
Company jumped VND500, or 0.8 percent, to close at VND67,000.
PetroVietnam Finance Company will buy 2 million PetroVietnam Drilling
shares to increase its holding to 10.4 million shares, according to a
statement posted on the bourse’s website.


Saigon Beverages Joint-Stock Company, known as
Tribeco, fell VND200, or 2.3 percent, to close at VND8,400. Citigroup
Global Market Ltd. has sold 35,050 shares to pare its holding to
579,450 shares.


Global stocks


European stock markets fell on Tuesday as investors
mulled the collapse of the world's biggest mining takeover, while Asian
share prices rallied following an overnight recovery on Wall Street.


Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto plunged almost 39
percent in early London trading after BHP Billiton abandoned a hostile
takeover bid for its rival.


BHP Billiton, the world's biggest mining company, announced it was dropping its bid owing to the downturn in the global economy.


European stock markets, which on Monday nailed record
one-day gains of about 10 percent, also dropped as global insurance
group AXA issued a profit warning.


In early trading on Tuesday, London slid 1.80 percent,
Frankfurt fell 1.88 percent and Paris lost 1.60 percent. Europe's main
stock markets had rocketed on Monday as investors cheered a major
economic stimulus package from the British government and a US bailout
of stricken American bank Citigroup.


Before Europe opened, Asian stocks closed sharply higher after stellar gains on US markets overnight.


The Tokyo stock market closed up 5.2 percent, Hong
Kong rose 3.4 percent, Seoul gained 1.4 percent and Sydney shot up 5.8
percent.