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Markets stop losing streak
Shares regained a little lost ground on both national stock exchanges on Thursday after three days of steep declines, helped by an overnight recovery on Wall Street.
The gains were achieved despite the State Bank of Viet Nam's announcement late Wednesday that it would keep the prime interest rate at 8 per cent for the month of September, extinguishing market hopes that the prime rate might decline by up to a percentage point.
On the HCM City Stock Exchange, the VN-Index closed up 0.75 per cent to 427.07 points. The value of trades declined 22 per cent to VND954.6 billion (US$49.5 million) on a volume of 39.36 million shares.
Heavy investor interest lifted the VN-Index to nearly 430 in the early session before it slid back to 427.
"The advance drove many investors to sell out instead of buying," said independent analyst To Tran Hoa. "Pressure to sell shares pledged as collateral remains huge."
Among the 10 leading shares by capitalisation, seven posted gains while only food giant Masan Group (MSN) slumped, closing down 2.12 per cent. Advancers outnumbered decliners overall, but by a fairly narrow margin of 112-102, with 44 shares unchanged.
Refrigeration & Electrical Engineering (REE) was the most-active share on the HCM City bourse, with 1.28 million changing hands. REE finished the day at VND16,000 ($0.83), a gain of 3.23 per cent.
On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index rose by 0.61 per cent to nearly 120 points. Market value fell by 10 per cent to VND683 billion ($35.4 million), with 31.4 million shares traded.
Losers outnumbered gainers on the northern bourse by 137-132, while blue chips recovered slightly across the board, including Asia Commercial Bank (ACB), up 0.36 per cent; construction giant Vinaconex (VCG), up over 2 per cent; Kim Long Securities (KLS), up 1.55 per cent; and PetroVietnam Construction (PVX), up 1.47 per cent.
PVX continued as the most-active share nationwide on a volume of 4.5 million.
Hoa said cautious investor psychology still weighed on the market, with traders distrusting any signs of a rebound.
"Sell orders have not slowed down," said Hoa. "Many investors want to wait a couple more sessions for clearer signs."
Foreign investors surprised market watchers as they turned from net buyers to net sellers on both exchanges yesterday, offloading a net of over 500,000 shares, worth in excess of VND20 billion ($1 million).
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