Lackluster trade sees market move sideways
Ho Chi Minh City shares edged down Monday in very thin trade as investors waited on the sidelines ahead of the prolonged Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday, dealers said.
The VN-Index slid 1.14 points, or 0.37 percent, to finish at 304.98. Turnover plunged to 4.5 million shares from Friday’s 7.3 million. The market will be closed from January 26-29.
The energy and healthcare sectors gained while utilities, materials, industrials and financials were among the losers.
Pham Linh, general director of Hanoi-based Vietnam International Securities Company, known as VISecurities, said, “Banking stocks dropped today even though both Asia Commercial Bank and Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Joint-Stock Bank announced their profits for last year.
“Investors are worried that their performance this year won’t be good because companies are not borrowing due to declining demand in other countries.
“Investor sentiment has also been affected by reports of losses by large banks in the US and other countries.”
Asia Commercial Bank (ACB), the country’s biggest listed firm by market value and the only listed lender on the Hanoi Securities Trading Center, fell VND100, or 0.36 percent, to close at VND28,000. The HCMC-based lender announced it posted VND2.56 trillion (US$146.5 million) in pre-tax profit last year, or VND56 billion ($3.2 million) higher than its target.
Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Joint-Stock Bank, known as Sacombank (STB), the only listed lender on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, dropped VND200, or 1.1 percent, to close at VND17,700. The HCMC-based bank said its pre-tax profit last year was VND1.2 trillion ($68.6 million), down from VND1.452 trillion in 2007.
“Apart from transportation and building material companies that may benefit from the government’s $6 billion stimulus package, petroleum and pharmaceutical stocks will still do fine because they are essential products,” Linh said.
“Actually, Vietnamese stocks are good buys now because companies’ fundamentals are still fine and their shares have fallen so much now.”
PV Drilling (PVD) rose VND1,000, or 1.4 percent, to close at VND73,000. PetroVietnam Finance Joint-Stock Corporation has bought 2.7 million shares to raise its holding in PVD to 12.4 million shares, according to a statement posted on the bourse’s website.
Techno - Agricultural Supplying Joint Stock Company (TSC) advanced VND400, or 1.3 percent, to VND31,900. The company, based in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho, announced it will pay a dividend of VND1,200 per share in March.
Construction firm Licogi 16 climbed VND900, or 2.3 percent, to VND40,800. The HCMC-based company said its after-tax profit reached VND151 billion ($8.6 million) last year, or up 26 percent from its projection.
An Pha S.G Petrol Joint-Stock Company (ASP) slid VND100, or 1.2 percent, to close at VND8,200. Its deputy general director, Le Xuan Hoang, has sold 200,000 shares to reduce his holding to 357,660 shares, the exchange said on its website.
Thao Vi
Bloomberg
|