Global worries weigh on stocks

[kieudiemvje]

National stock indexes coped well with the globally unenthusiastic context by a slender 0.62 per-cent fall of the VN-Index to 504.02 yesterday.
Daily trading volume continued sliding 18.9 per cent to a meagre 46.9 million shares, posting a value of VND1.3 trillion (US$68.4 million). The newly-listed Thuan Thao Company (GTT) saw 3.5 million shares traded, making it the day's most active stock.
Thuan Thao Company officially listed about 29 million shares in HCM City Stock Exchange on Wednesday, at an offering price of VND20,000 a piece. The company's core businesses are transportation and tourism services. It scheduled a turnover of VND485 billion ($25.5 million) and a pre-tax profit of VND49.7 billion this year.
Chu Hong Nhung, a market analyst at a HCM City-based securities firm, said that the discouraging situation in global markets had affected local trading in the first half of the session, while there was a substantial move into penny stocks in the second half, preventing the indexes from seeing a sharp decline.
For example, Descon Construction Corporation (DCC) and GTT yesterday rose to the maximum of their regulated trading band of 5 per cent while other stocks of Godaco Seafood Company (AGD), Sao Mai Construction Corporation (ASM) or Sao Vang Rubber Company (SRC) posted 4.90 per cent price increases respectively.
"In addition, increasing purchases of some banking stocks such as Sacombank (STB) or Eximbank (EIB) reflected a better response to the international context," Nhung said, referencing the rises of 0.48 and 1.06 per cent in STB and EIB prices, respectively.
Commercial bank's efforts to lower lending rates refuelled demand on banking stocks, she said.
However, investors didn't risk higher spending as they remained concerned by the movements on the international markets, despite domestic stability, said Nguyen Tuan, another market analyst with financial investment Company.
Uncertainty had dulled local trading, Tuan said when reviewing gloomy trading in yesterday's session. When uncertainty dominates overall trends, investors curb potential risks, he added.
The Ha Noi Stock Exchange continued a sleepy day with the HNX-Index closing yesterday with a 0.52 per cent decrease to 157.98 points. Trading dropped under the VND1 trillion level to VND900 billion ($47.4 million) on a total 30.4 million shares.
PetroVietnam Construction (PVX) maintained the biggest trading volume of 2.6 million yesterday, after posting a decline of 0.34 per cent in price.
Foreign investors continued seeking profits in the northern market by a sell-off of 157,600 shares for a value of VND2.8 billion ($147,368). Meanwhile, they raised their net-buy value in the south to VND64.2 billion ($3.4 million), from VND41 billion on Wednesday, on a net volume of 900,000 shares.