Vn-Index rebounds on sleepy trading

[ducvt]

Shares opened low on the HCM City exchange this morning but gradually improved with the benchmark VN-Index gaining 0.52 per cent to close the first half session at 492.01 points.

Trading was sluggish, however, with just 25.6 million shares, worth VND516 billion (US$24.6 million), changing hands.

Decliners edged advancers by 95-81 while the other 133 codes closed flat.

Most of large-cap shares on the southern bourse declined, including Bao Viet Holdings (BVH), Phu My Fertiliser (DPM), FPT Corp (FPT) and Hoang Anh Gia Lai Co (HAG). However, rises of logistic Gemadept (GMD) and Vinamilk (VNM) helped lift the VN30, which tracks the top 30 shares on the bourse ,by 0.16 per cent to 558.07 points.

GMD hit the ceiling price of VND39,400 ($1.88) while VNM was traded 0.9 per cent up at VND114,000 ($5.43) a share.

Tan Tao Investment-Industry (ITA) was again the most active code this morning with 1.85 million shares changing hands, being traded at VND7,100 a share.

Meanwhile, the HNX-Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange continued to fall, closing the morning's session at 60.73 points, off 0.2 per cent from yesterday's close.

Nearly 20 million shares, worth VND151 billion ($7.2 million), were exchanged by the end of this morning.

Sai Gon-Ha Noi Bank (SHB) is leading the northern market trades with nearly 5 million shares exchanged. The shares are being traded at VND6,700 a share.

The afternoon session will start at 1pm.

[ducvt]

Market performance was mixed on the two national stock exchanges yesterday as investors reacted weakly to modest GDP growth in the first quarter, which is estimated at 4.89 per cent.

Shares opened low on the HCM City exchange yesterday morning but gradually improved with the benchmark VN-Index gaining 0.37 per cent to close yesterday's session at 491.26 points.

Trading was sluggish, however, with nearly 39 million shares worth VND757 billion (US$36 million) changing hands, down 17 per cent in volume and 9 per cent in value compared to the previous session.

Decliners edged advancers by 107-101 while the other 101 codes closed flat.

"The trading atmosphere is quite boring," FPTS Securities Co's analysts commented on the company's website.

Trading of shares of transport firm Gemadept (GMD) was the bright spot in yesterday's session, they said. GMD hit its ceiling price for a third straight day, closing at VND39,400 a share.

It was rumoured that GMD signed a contract yesterday to sell the Gemadept Tower building in HCM City to a Korean partner for over $45 million. The transfer is expected to be completed within the next 3-4 months and this amount will be recorded in the company's profits in the second quarter.

However, no official information about the deal has yet been disclosed.

With over half of the shares in the VN30 closing flat, the VN30 was down 0.42 per cent to 554.83 points. Tan Tao Investment-Industry (ITA) was again the most active code yesterday with 2.7 million shares changing hands, sliding 2.78 per cent to VND7,000 a share.

Meanwhile, the HNX-Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange lost 0.38 per cent to finish yesterday's session at 60.62 points on a total trading value of VND247.2 billion ($11.8 million).

Sai Gon-Ha Noi Bank (SHB) is leading the northern market trades with over 6.9 million shares exchanged, closing flat at VND6,700 a share.

Foreign investors remained net buyers on both exchanges, responsible for a combined net buy of VND51.6 billion ($2.5 million) worth of shares.