Late buys fail to save markets

An accelerated sell-off of shares caused the HCM City Stock Exchange to undergo a correction yesterday, March 30, with the VN-Index closing off by nearly 1 per cent to 500.72.

But, following Monday’s sluggish pace, the overall value of the day’s trades returned to a more active VND2.22 trillion (US$116.8 million), on a total volume of 58.8 million shares.

Sai Gon Cable and Telecommunications Materials Co (SAM) became the most active share, with a volume of 4.8 million, after the company’s shareholders on Sunday voted to approve a target for this year of VND1.31 trillion in earnings and VND282.6 billion in profit. They also approved proposals to increase its charter capital this year and to rename the company SACOM Development and Investment Corporation.

Dai Viet Securities Co analysts noted that penny stocks continued to attract the greatest investor attention, while foreign investors continued to largely sit out the market.

However, they said, increased buy orders for shares of Eximbank (EIB) and Asia Commercial Bank (ACB) in the final minutes of yesterday’s session was a sign of a possible shift in the market today.

Meanwhile, analysts of Thang Long Securities Co pointed to technical signs which suggested a short-term rally was possible. However, Thang Long analyst Quach Manh Hao added that “concerns over cautious monetary policies mean that there could be no such run.”

Nguyen Thi Minh Hang of Royal International Securities Co said that the few investors remaining active on the floors seemed discouraged by the tough market, and she suggested that a significant amount of capital was shifting towards the real estate market.

The Ha Noi Stock Exchange yesterday saw its fourth session of declines, and the HNX-Index closed down by 0.84 per cent to 162.37. Volume reached 27.7 million shares, worth a combined VND906.84 billion ($47.7 million), with Kim Long Securities Co (KLS) reclaiming the spot as the most-active share, with a volume of 2.6 million changing hands.

Foreign investors turned to be net sellers on the southern market by a net volume of about a million shares yesterday, worth a net of VND36.9 billion ($1.94 million), but they were net buyers on the Ha Noi market, picking up a meagre 97,600 shares.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News

Tags: Vietnam stock market, Vietnam stock market 2010