Market drops for second day
By Phuong Thao - The Saigon Times Daily
HCMC – The local market lost for the second straight session on Thursday while liquidity jumped to a 10-day high on strong selling pressure, dragging the VN-Index down 1.55 points, or 0.32%, from the day earlier to close at 486.07.
The market gained in early trade and then rose to the daily high of 491.35 before dropping off at the end of the morning session. The afternoon trading saw the index drop into the red before it erased some of the losses before the close.
Trading on the southern bourse climbed 18% in volume and 26% in value to 134.7 million shares worth over VND2.3 trillion. Put-through transactions contributed VND366 billion, in which CII had 6.4 million shares changing hands.
There were 137 stocks rising and 132 others declining, with 67 stocks closing at the ceiling prices and 30 others plunging to the floor prices. Blue-chips had another mixed day with more gains in HVG and TAC while VCB had a strong day as well. On the other hand, DPM saw some profit taking after recent gains while BVH continued its recent multi-week slide.
Licogi 16 Company (LCG) and Tan Tao Investment Industry Corporation (ITA) were the most actively traded stock in terms of volume with 4.2 million shares traded each. LCG was also the leader in terms of value with VND59 billion.
Foreigners turned net sellers for the first time this month with a value of VND8.6 billion, mostly offloading PHR and continuing net buying of STB and MBB shares. They accounted for 6.5% and 6.8% of the market’s buying and selling value respectively.
The Hanoi market also fell on Thursday. Turnover increased to VND1.1 trillion.
The HNX-Index decreased 0.53 point, or 0.63%, from the session earlier and ended the day at 83.23.
Gainers slightly outnumbered losers by 173 to 142, with 74 stocks hitting the ceiling prices and 29 others dropping to the floor. Foreigners accounted for 1.6% of the buying value and 1.9% of the selling value.
Viet Capital Securities Co. said the markets gapped up on the news of fuel price cuts with the VN-Index quickly hitting an intraday of 490.5 and the HNX-Index 85 points. However, as rumors of the fuel price cuts had already surfaced a few days ago, bears quickly took this opportunity to take short-term profits, thus sending both indices into negative territory.
“We think this is just a short-term correction, new investors should consider accumulating at these levels,” it added.