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US rally cheers HCMC investors
Ho Chi Minh City stocks Tuesday rose for the first time in seven sessions after a bailout of US banking giant Citigroup triggered a strong rebound overnight on Wall Street.
The VN-Index gained 2.4 points, or 0.75 percent, to close at 320.33 points.
Hoang Thach Lan, manager of Analysis and Investment at SME Securities in HCMC, said though investor sentiment was buoyant in the first session thanks to two straight days of gains on the US market, doubts began to set in about the US stocks’ rebound.
He said though many stocks have now fallen below their book value and even par value (VND10,000), investors remain cautious about buying.
Though last week the central bank lowered the key interest rate that guides deposit and lending interest rates by 1 percent to 11 percent, Lan said the rate cut would not have an immediate impact on businesses’ costs but only next year.
He added that worries about the global economic crunch had a strong influence on the local stock market.
Trading volume Tuesday plummeted to 11.3 million shares from Monday’s 13.3 million. Of the index members, 84 gained, 53 fell and 33 remained unchanged.
Foreign investors were net sellers to the tune of VND31 billion (US$1.8 million). Some blue chips like Vinamilk and Saigon Securities Inc. were among the stocks they dumped.
Stock performances
PetroVietnam Fertilizer & Chemical Joint-Stock Company rose for the first time in seven days, gaining VND200, or 0.5 percent, to VND37,400. The HCMC-based company said Tuesday its pretax profit may rise 59 percent to VND1.75 trillion ($103 million) this year, from VND1.1 trillion a year earlier thanks to an increase in fertilizer prices.
Tan Binh Electronics Joint-Stock Company, or Viettronics Tan Binh, climbed by VND700, or the daily allowed limit of 5 percent, the most since September 4, to VND14,900. The company will pay a dividend of VND600 per share on December 29.
PetroVietnam Drilling and Well Services Joint-Stock Company jumped VND500, or 0.8 percent, to close at VND67,000. PetroVietnam Finance Company will buy 2 million PetroVietnam Drilling shares to increase its holding to 10.4 million shares, according to a statement posted on the bourse’s website.
Saigon Beverages Joint-Stock Company, known as Tribeco, fell VND200, or 2.3 percent, to close at VND8,400. Citigroup Global Market Ltd. has sold 35,050 shares to pare its holding to 579,450 shares.
Global stocks
European stock markets fell on Tuesday as investors mulled the collapse of the world's biggest mining takeover, while Asian share prices rallied following an overnight recovery on Wall Street.
Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto plunged almost 39 percent in early London trading after BHP Billiton abandoned a hostile takeover bid for its rival.
BHP Billiton, the world's biggest mining company, announced it was dropping its bid owing to the downturn in the global economy.
European stock markets, which on Monday nailed record one-day gains of about 10 percent, also dropped as global insurance group AXA issued a profit warning.
In early trading on Tuesday, London slid 1.80 percent, Frankfurt fell 1.88 percent and Paris lost 1.60 percent. Europe's main stock markets had rocketed on Monday as investors cheered a major economic stimulus package from the British government and a US bailout of stricken American bank Citigroup.
Before Europe opened, Asian stocks closed sharply higher after stellar gains on US markets overnight.
The Tokyo stock market closed up 5.2 percent, Hong Kong rose 3.4 percent, Seoul gained 1.4 percent and Sydney shot up 5.8 percent.
Thao Vi
Thanh nien, AFP, Bloomberg
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