Stocks slump on sluggish trading (13/3/13)

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Shares continued to slide this morning on both stock exchanges after sluggish trading.

On the HCM City Stock Exchange, the VN-Index gave up another 0.51 per cent to close the morning's session at 472.90 points.

More than 34.8 million shares, worth VND548.5 billion (US$26.1 million), were exchanged by the end of this morning.

Slumps of blue chips again dragged down the Index. None of the the top 30 shares on the bourse gained, pushing the VN30 down 0.66 per cent on 543.99 points.

Without special information, penny share Truong Thanh Furniture Corp (TTF) still became the most active code this morning with 1.82 million shares changing hands. The shares are being traded at VND7,300.

Meanwhile, the HNX-Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange also decreased 1.3 per cent to 61.41 points on a trading value of just VND213.45 billion ($10.2 million).

PetroVietnam Construction (PVX) continued to slide this morning, being traded at just VND5,800 a share, but they were still the most heavily-traded code nationwide on trades of nearly 4 million shares.

Trading will resume at 1pm.

[ducvt]

Investors watch share movements at a VNDirect Securities Co branch in Ha Noi. — VNS Photo Viet Thanh
HA NOI (VNS)- In yesterday's markets, slumping blue chips were once again responsible for driving the VN-Index down on the HCM City Stock Exchange, with the Index giving up another 0.45 per cent to close at 473.18 points.

Only five of the top 30 shares on the bourse advanced, while 22 codes declined and three closed flat. The VN30 decreased by a more significant 0.86 per cent to 542.94 points.

The market continued to fall due to the lack of positive news and most stocks were traded in narrow price ranges.

Both trading volume and value declined slightly from the previous session, totalling nearly 50.3 million shares, worth VND802 billion (US$38.2 million).

Tan Tao Investment Industry (ITA) was again the most active code by the end of yesterday's session with 2.6 million shares changing hands, edging down 3.9 per cent at VND7,500 a share.

Truong Thanh Furniture Corp (TTF), formerly the most active code in the morning, came in the second with trades of 2.1 million shares. The shares rose 5.6 per cent to settle at VND7,400.

On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index decreased 1.27 per cent to finish yesterday's session at 61.43 points following a total trading value of VND399.3 billion ($10.2 million), down 21.7 per cent from Tuesday's value.

PetroVietnam Construction (PVX) continued to slide yesterday, closing at just VND5,700 a share, but they were still the most heavily-traded code nationwide on trades of nearly 7.6 million shares.

The market saw almost no accumulation during the past week, while the selling pressure increased in the last two sessions and both stock indices continued advancing to strong resistance levels. According to Nguyen Tuan, analyst of FLC Securities Co, those factors are indicating that the market is heading for a decline.

"There's a possibility that investors are pursuing the strategy of trying to keep the market stable to continue distribution," Tuan said, noting the current market situation was similar to the trading in June last year when the market was up for a few sessions and then down on strong selling.

Foreign investors continued to buy yesterday in HCM City and were responsible for a net buy of VND65 billion ($3.1 million) worth of shares, but they remained net sellers in Ha Noi, unloading another VND18 billion ($857,000) worth of shares.