Shares retreat on sluggish trading
Shares retreat on sluggish trading
The interest rate cut announced on Monday failed to extend the market increase March 26 with both stock indices retreating.
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| Source: VietstockFinance |
The benchmark VN-Index on the HCM City Stock Exchange fell harder in the afternoon, losing 0.83 per cent to stand at 489.46 points by the end of the session, even though it opened at over 496 points.
Trading was sluggish with 47 million shares traded, worth VND832.3 billion (US$39.6 million), down 20 per cent in volume and 10 per cent in value from Monday's levels.
According to many analysts, investors already knew the interest rate cut was coming.
Blue chips performed poorly as just eight of the 30 largest shares on the bourse gained value while 18 slid. Masan Group (MSN) led the downturn with a decline of 3.9 per cent; dairy giant Vinamilk (VNM) and Sacombank (STB) were down from 1.7-1.9 per cent.
The VN30, tracking the 30 largest shares by market capitalisation and liquidity, was down 0.83 per cent at 557.17 points.
Tan Tao Investment Industry (ITA) reclaimed the position of the most active code during the afternoon with total trades of nearly 2 million shares, closing flat at VND7,200 a share.
"Investors turned defensive after Government agencies announced pessimistic data," Le Quang Manh, an analyst of FPT Securities Co, was quoted as saying on the company's website yesterday.
"Companies face a worse first quarter than in 2012, possibly even the worst quarter in many years," Manh said, citing 15,200 companies went bankrupt in the first quarter, an increase of 2,200 businesses over the same period last year.
Meanwhile, the industrial manufacturing index grew at its slowest pace in many years with just 4.9 per cent during the quarter, he added.
On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index closed off 0.44 per cent at 60.85 points with a total value of VND224.7 billion ($10.7 million).
Real estate company Sacomreal (SCR) led the market's trades with nearly 4.5 million shares changing hands, closing 2.4 per cent down at VND8,200 a share.
Foreign investors concluded yesterday as net buyers on both exchanges, picking shares worth a combined VND48.8 billion ($2.3 million)
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