Shares fall on economic fears
HA NOI - (VNS) Shares continued to fall during yesterday's session as a scandal that hit the banking sector continues to weigh down on the stock market. However, the decline on the bourse was slower than on Monday.
In positive developments, the HCM City Stock Exchange began applying market orders in trading from today.
Brokers can now buy or sell stocks immediately at the best available current prices, and are not restricted on the buy/sell price or the time frame in which the order can be executed.
After three months of pilot execution, the exchange officially applied this type of continuous order matching to increasing liquidity by improving conditions for both buyers and sellers in terms of order matching speed for trades.
On the southern exchange, most stocks closed unchanged from the previous session. Eighty listed shares managed to post gains but failed to boost an earlier rally of the VN-Index. The index ended yesterday 0.58 per cent lower at 384.32 points.
The VN30, representing the bourse's top shares, reached 448.97 points after losing 0.57 per cent.
Among the 30 stocks tracked by the VN30, five blue-chips edged up, while property developer Tan Tao (ITA), financial firm Ocean Group (OGC) and PetroVietnam Finance (PVF) continued to bottom out.
The overall value of trades reached VND357.5 billion (US$17 million) on a volume of nearly 26.1 million shares.
On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, trading was more sluggish. Market value stood at just VND136.6 billion ($6.5 million), as only 21.56 million shares changed hands.
The HNX-Index retreated 0.6 per cent to 53.94 points. Blue chips sent the HNX30 down 0.34 per cent, fetching 99.56 points.
Meanwhile, securities analysts were still pessimistic over economic conditions. "Domestic consumption remained low, as private consumption – which accounts for nearly 70 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) – rose only 3.3 per cent in the third quarter," said ACB Securities Co analyst Cao Tan Phat.
Based on the current condition, Viet Nam's GDP by the end of this year would rise by only 5.1-5.2 per cent, he added. — VNS