(02-04-2008)
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| A woman walks beneath an electronic board displaying stock market information at OceanBank in Ha Noi.— VNS Photo Doan Tung |
HA NOI — The HCM City stock market continued its slow march back from the abyss, and the VN-Index yesterday advanced another 0.80 per cent to 520.99, a modest increase of 4.14 points.
Many market analysts and investors, however, were already beginning to grumble that the newly-tightened daily trading band was too restrictive on market growth and liquidity.
Trading value and volume yesterday appeared to bear out that position, with the day’s trades totalling only VND85.68 billion (US$5.35 million) on an anaemic volume of 1.6 million shares, a slump of over 40 per cent from Monday’s session.
All shares gained on the day, however, except for Trans-Forwarding and Warehousing Co (TMS), for which trading was suspended due to yesterday’s exdate for dividend eligibility.
Ha Noi Securities broker Huynh Quang said, "With the trading band at just 1 per cent, trading levels are not significant. Though the buys are outnumbering sell orders on the exchange, the total number of shares changing hands is low. We are neglecting to notice the fact that investors right now are simply not selling shares."
Foreign investors were also net buyers yesterday to the tune of VND750 million.
Quang wanted to see a re-loosening of the trading band but only after a time as investors have not yet calmed down from the recent market decline.
"No good news is coming, so a loosening could cause another shock to investors if it comes right now."
Nguyen Thanh Ky, general secretary of the Viet Nam Association of Securities Business, said, "Authorities never wanted to use a method that makes the market less attractive and lose liquidity, but the recent fall was becoming too serious."
He said re-loosening the daily trading band would now depend on how much the market appeared to be recovering, and on investor psychology.
In Ha Noi, the HASTC-Index also closed up, largely to the extent of the trading band, gaining 1.64 per cent to end the day at 184.41. Trading volume was 568,500 shares with a value of VND25.5 billion ($1.6 million). — VNS
