HA NOI — The VN-Index lost ground yesterday, closing down a quarter of a per cent from Monday's close to 390.20 points, with advancers slightly outnumbering decliners.
The value of trades on the HCM Stock Exchange edged up by 2.3 per cent, however, reaching VND505.94 billion (US$23.75 million) on a volume of 37.9 million shares.
The 10 leading shares by capitalisation all lost value, with insurer Bao Viet Holdings (BVH) dropping to VND61,000 ($2.90) per share, a decline of 3.2 per cent. Only Sacombank (STB) and resort developer VinpearlLand (VPL) added value.
Investment group Tan Tao (ITA) became the most-active share in HCM City, with nearly 2.5 million changing hands.
On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index also slid by 1.1 per cent to close at 62.78 points. The value of trades declined from the previous session, reaching just VND340.7 billion ($16 million) as volume fell 12.8 per cent to 37.5 million shares. VNDirect Securities Co (VND) was the most-active share nationwide with around 4.8 million traded, but it dropped by 0.9 per cent to just VND10,700 per share.
SME Securities Co (SME) hit its ceiling price after several sessions of bottoming out after once again falling into insolvency. The Viet Nam Securities Depository announced on Monday that SME failed to pay for its transactions on November 30. The value of these transactions was VND3 billion ($140,850), doubling the value of its violation a month ago.
A State Securities Commission representative told the Vietnam Economic Times that it was considering suspending SME's brokerage operations to protect the interests of investors.
Viet Nam's two leading stock indices were among the most dramatically depressed in the Asia-Pacific region, Kim Eng Securities Co analysts told a meeting in HCM City yesterday. Share prices were at their cheapest level since the market was formed, they said.
"The price-to-earnings ratio on the Vietnamese market has plunged to 10, which is lower than almost all other markets," said the company's head of analysis and consultancy, Phan Dung Khanh. — VNS
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