HCMC – As the selling pressure kept piling up given the Government’s weak GDP (gross domestic product) forecast in the second quarter, the local market lost big ground in the fourth straight losing session on Monday, sending the VN-Index down 10.41 points, or 2.17%, against last Friday to close at 469.69.
Market tumbles on strong selling
By Phuong Thao - The Saigon Times Daily
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| Investors feel frustrated at the losing streak on the stock market. Strong selling forced the VN-Index down 10.41 points on Monday, or 2.17%, against last Friday to close at 469.69 - Photo: Minh Khue |
HCMC – As the selling pressure kept piling up given the Government’s weak GDP (gross domestic product) forecast in the second quarter, the local market lost big ground in the fourth straight losing session on Monday, sending the VN-Index down 10.41 points, or 2.17%, against last Friday to close at 469.69.
The market opened higher and spiked early to hit the daily high of 483.15 before falling back and then having gone on a second run, it closed well in the red at the end of the morning session. The afternoon session saw the drop continue and the market closed at the lows of the day.
Trading on the southern exchange contracted 3% in volume but improved 18% in value to 110 million shares worth VND1.9 trillion on the back of VND543 billion from put-through transactions.
Losers far outnumbered gainers by 265 to 29, with only eight stocks hitting the ceiling prices while 186 stocks closed limit-down. Blue-chips BVH, DPM, HAG, MSN, MBB and STB together removed 4.7 points from the index.
Military Bank (MBB) and Saigon Securities Inc. (SSI) were the most active stocks in terms of volume with 3.7 million shares and 3.1 million shares traded respectively. SSI was the leader in terms of value with VND72 billion.
The Hanoi market also collapsed while turnover dipped again. The HNX-Index lost a hefty 2.74 points, or 3.36%, and ended the day at 78.84.
Only 35 stocks rose while 288 stocks post losses, of which 10 stocks went up to the ceiling prices and 172 stocks dropped to the floor prices. Foreigners accounted for 3.5% of the buying value and 3.1% of the selling value.
HCMC Securities Co. said it is still uncertain whether or not this movement will turn into the board-based consolidation or whether it is simply another pit stop on the road to a near term test of the 500-point level. However, technical analysis shows a break below 465 points or so on the VN-Index on Tuesday would suggest a more protracted consolidation period while a rapid recovery would suggest there is a bit of life left in the current rally.
“We feel that a period of correction and consolidation could only be a healthy thing medium to longer term. The market has all but exhausted the interest rate story while the green shoots of recovery have yet to appear. We strongly believe that they will appear over the next few months but in the meantime, the market should maybe take a bit of a breather,” it said.