Domestic stock indices hit new lows on Nov.27, as modest activity continued on both Hanoi and HCM City markets.


The VN-Index slipped 8.2 points – a loss of 2.63
percent – to close at 303.54, with 140 codes sliding and 22 advancing,
Trading volume reached 12.8 million shares on a total turnover of 343.5
billion VND (20.8 million USD).


Vu Hoai Chang, director of the SME Securities analysis
department, said that 300 points was “no longer a supporting mark” for
investor. He expected the VN-Index to plunge as low as 250 points.


“Investors are getting down on the market,” Chang
said, noting that some investors who recently bought shares following
global market moves had realised little gain.


Nguyen Nhan Nghia, deputy director of the BIDV
Investment Fund Management Co, said investors were hesitant to buy due
to worries about the future of listed companies.


“They absolutely have reasons to be concerned, in the current [economic] context,” he said.


Nghia said, however, it remained safe to buy at this time, with interest rates low and share prices depressed.


Bao Viet Securities analysts said earlier this week
that banks’ deposit interest rates would fall sharply over the next few
months, triggering significant capital flows into the stock market,
where “ share prices are now very attractive for long-term investment.”


Nguyen Anh Vu at the HCM City Banking University
suggested that bonds - with low risk levels and settled interest rates
- were a better investment channel now than stocks, particularly in a
period of modest growth.


Prudential Investment Fund Management Co general
director Pham Ngoc Bich, however, said his company had already shifted
capital from securities to bonds at a 70/20 ratio, with the rest
deposited at banks.


“If interest rates continue to fall, we will continue
to invest in bonds with money shifted from securities or banks,” said
Bich.


Dong A Investment Fund Management Co general director
Cao Thanh Dinh said at a seminar on securities on Nov. 26 that his
company was also considering investing in bonds, with almost no
interest in securities at present.


In yesterday’s trading on the HCM Stock Exchange
(HOSE), only Sacombank (STB) showed significant activity, with 2.5
million shares traded, while the runner-up as most-active share, FPT,
saw only 712,000 shares change hands.


FPT and some other major stocks, including Tan Tao
Industrial Park Corp (ITA), PetroVietnam Finance (PVF) and Pa Lai
Thermal Power (PPC), continued to hit the floor of their regulated
trading bands.


Foreign investor continued to sell out of the HCM City
market on Nov 27, picking up 1.3 million shares while shedding 3.2
million units. Net sales value reached nearly 70 billion VND (4.2
million USD) for the day.


Hanoi on Nov 27 witnessed 127 gainers and 14 losers,
and the HATSC-Index shed another 1.96 percent to close at 97.61 points.
Trading volume was 7.5 million shares for a total value of value of 187
billion VND (11.3 million USD).


Kim Long Securities (KLS) and Asia Commercial Bank
(ACB) were the most active on the northern market with more than a
million shares traded each, followed by Petroleum Technical Services
Corp (PVSC) with about 900,000.


“With the HATSC-Index now having fallen below its
starting-point, it’s difficult to predict a new rock bottom for the
index,” Chang said.