Investors look to lawmakers
HA NOI (VNS)– Stocks recovered slightly yesterday on both national stock exchanges, but trading continued to decline as investors wait for the results of the ongoing National Assembly meeting.
News on the outcome of the meeting is highly anticipated as Assembly deputies are expected to adopt a new socio-economic development plan, along with making announcements on the State budget and central budget allocation for 2013, according to Pham Tien Dung, an analyst at Bao Viet Securities.
"At this time, the market usually has low liquidity and tends to go sideways or falls slightly," Dung said.
On the HCM City Stock Exchange, the VN-Index rose just 0.18 per cent to close at 397.71 points but trading value decreased 35 per cent from the previous session, totalling VND475.3 billion (US$22.6 million).
Negotiated transactions continued to build up, reaching VND195 billion ($9.3 million), led by trades on Eximbank (EIB) shares. Another 8.77 million EIB shares, worth VND145 billion ($6.9 million), were traded through negotiations yesterday.
However, Tan Tao Investment Industry (ITA) was still the most active code with over 4.8 million shares changing hands, but the shares slumped for three days in a row, losing another 4.4 per cent to a close of VND4,300 a share.
"Most stocks hovered around their reference prices due to a lack of positive news amid a gloomy economic outlook and poor corporate earnings forecasts," said a stock analyst at FPT Securities Co.
Stocks losing value were mostly companies announcing surprisingly poor business results, including ITA, telecom equipment maker Sacom Development and Investment (SAM) and PetroVietnam Low Pressure Gas Distribution (PGD). Profitable businesses posted results early, whereas the delayed and late announcements were often from loss-making companies, analysts said.
Most blue chips on the southern bourse closed flat yesterday while only steelmakers Hoa Sen Group (HSG) and Hoa Phat Group (HPG) and PetroVietnam Finance (PVF) closed higher from 1.7-3.4 per cent.
The VN30, tracking performance of the top 30 shares on the bourse, was up slightly to stand at 469.82 points.
On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index also gained 0.39 per cent to close at 54.56 points on a lower value of over VND126 billion ($6 million).
PetroVietnam Construction (PVX) was again the most active code on the northern bourse but the trading volume was half of yesterday with just 1.94 million shares changing hands. The shares closed 2.3 per cent up at VND4,500 per unit.
Foreign investors picked up shares worth VND12.5 billion ($600,000) yesterday on both exchanges. — VNS