Shares retreat on investor caution
Shares retreat on investor caution
Shares failed to retain gains on both stock exchanges March 18. On the HCM City Stock Exchange, the VN-Index closed at 479.13 points, falling 0.46 per cent.
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| Source: VietstockFinance |
Around one-third of the listed stocks added value, while 76 codes tumbled and 124 finished unchanged.
Market value reached VND809.7 billion (US$38.5 million) on a volume of 49.1 million shares.
Meanwhile, among blue chips, over half of the 30 leading shares tracked by the VN30-Index fell, including insurer Bao Viet (BVH), food processor Masan (MSN), property developer Vingroup (VIC) and Vietcombank (VCB).
Only seven of these large-cap shares managed to rise. The index overall slid 0.8 per cent to 548.72 points.
On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index shed nearly 1.3 per cent to 61.26 points.
Losers overwhelmed gainers by 141-62 points.
As 38.9 million shares changed hands, trading value fetched VND311.67 billion ($14.8 million).
The HNX30-Index, composed of the exchange's top shares, also dropped more than 2 per cent, standing at 117.90 points.
Caution among investors remained, especially after the portfolio revision of exchange-traded funds last Friday.
Meanwhile, according to a survey conducted by the website vietstock.vn, 56 per cent of respondents said they believed that the market would decline.
Global markets also tumbled yesterday, following news of a controversial tax plan in Cyprus. After announcing a 10 billion euro rescue of the banking sector in Cyprus, the European Union asked to impose a tax rate of 9.9 per cent on bank deposits of 100,000 euros and 6.75 per cent on deposits of less than 100,000 euros starting from today.
This is the first time the EU has set out such terms for a bailout deal.
Previously in Viet Nam, the HCM City Real Estate Association had also proposed to tax bank deposits – a move that faced a lot of opposition.
The market lacked positive data, according to Bao Viet Securities Co analysts. "If the situation remains, the current good news about corporate operations in the first quarter won't help," they said, predicting the market would stay flat before declining.
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