Blue chips drag down stock indices (1/10/12)

[xiuchic]

Shares plunged ever lower this morning as investors shunned the market, driving down trading values down on both exchanges.

On the HCM City Stock Exchange, the VN-Index gave up 1.07 per cent to stand at 388.35 points on a turnover of just VND237.8 billion (US$11.3 million) by the end of the morning's session.

The VN30 tracking the top 30 shares on the southern bourse also dropped 0.88 per cent to 452.48 points.

Insurer Bao Viet Holdings and PetroVietnam Finance (PVF) dropped to the floor while Vietinbank (CTG), Sacombank (STB), Vietcombank (VCB) and software giant FPT (FPT) fell between 1.2-2.4 per cent.
With more than 977,000 shares changing hands, Saigon Securities Inc (SSI) became the most active code this morning but the stock ended trading 3 per cent lower at VND15,800 ($0.75) a share.

Among the top 30 shares, only steelmaker Hoa Phat Group (HPG) hit the ceiling at VND20,200 ($0.96) a share.

The HNX-Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange also slid 1.55 per cent to finish the morning at 54.61 points with trading values reaching just VND89.7 billion ($4.3 million).
Market conditions remained negative with 135 codes shedding value, only 36 posting gains and 223 closing flat.

PetroVietnam Construction (PVX) was still the most active share on the capital bourse with nearly 1.4 million shares changing hands but they plunged to the floor price of just VND4,100.
Trading will resume at 1pm.

[xiuchic]

Shares plunged steeper yesterday as investor pessimism drove trading values down significantly.

Meanwhile, Viet Nam's Purchasing Manager's Index (PMI) last month reached a five-month peak, or 49.2 points compared to the level of 47.9 points in August. However, business conditions seemed to continue to deteriorate.


According to HSBC, a PMI above 50 points indicates an improvement in business conditions over the previous period, while anything lower than 50 means a deterioration.

"From a technical perspective, the market is continuing its downward spiral in both the short and medium term," said Hoa Binh Securities Co analyst Nguyen Thi Huong. Market sentiment was quite pessimistic, and sellers were aggressive, she said. "This pessimism is reflected in the low trading volume, and the market will decline further in order to lure buyers back."
Investors should stay alert at this stage, said Huong, adding that a safe ratio of stocks or cash was recommended.

On the HCM City Stock Exchange, the VN-Index lost 1.53 per cent to stand at 386.55 points on a turnover of just VND478.7 billion (US$22.7 million), dropping 30.8 per cent compared to last Friday's session.

The VN30 tracking the top 30 shares on the southern bourse also declined 1.08 per cent to 451.55 points.

Insurer Bao Viet Holdings (BVH), Becamex Infrastructure Development (IJC), property developer Tan Tao (ITA) and financiers Ocean Group (OGC) and PetroVietnam Finance (PVF) dropped to the floor.

Among the top 30 shares, only steelmaker Hoa Phat Group (HPG) hit the ceiling price of VND20,200 (nearly $1) per share.

The HNX-Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange also slid 2.16 per cent to finish yesterday at 54.27 points with trading value reaching just VND169 billion ($8 million).

Market conditions were negative with 161 code shedding value, only 61 posting gains and 172 closing flat.

The HNX30 fell 3.3 per cent, reaching only 99.90 points.

Foreign investors were net sellers yesterday in terms of trading value, unloading a combined margin of VND14 billion (666,700) on both stock exchanges.