Banking stocks a hot potato

March 09, 2012 | 17:00

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Banking stocks were largely dumped on Friday in a correction session, strongly stirring the market.

Habubank (HBB) and Saigon-Hanoi Bank (SHB) both hit the floor today, ending a dramatic upswing of the two stocks. Up to 3.6 million HBB shares were still offered at a floor price after the session’s closing.

HBB was active the most on the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX) with 8.6 million shares matched and SHB followed with 5 million shares matched.

Military Bank (MBB) and Eximbank (EIB) both shed nearly 3 per cent each on Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), with 6.5 million shares and 4.4 million shares sold each. Meanwhile Sacombank (STB) hit the floor. Vietinbank (CTG) was off 1.54 per cent.

Just Vietcombank (VCB) modestly gained, up 1.45 per cent. Financial stocks Saigon Securities Inc. (SSI), PetroVietnam Finance (PVF) and securities company shares on HNX also largely dropped, off some 2-4 per cent each.

Analysts said the market was in a period of corrections, after an upswing since early this year. Meanwhile, fuel prices hikes sparked concerns about inflation strongly weighing on the stock market.

But investors’ sentiment was stable. Demand for shares increased, supporting the prices of several stocks.

Of the real estate sector, Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAG) hit the floor but several speculative stocks like Licogi16 (LCG), Hoang Quan Consulting-Trading-Service Real Estate Corp. (HQC), Investment and Trading of Real Estate (ITC), Song Da Urban & Industrial Zone Investment and Development (SJS) and Binh Duong Trade and Development (TDC) still jumped.

Other major stocks ended mixed, among them Hoa Phat Group (HPG) lost and PetroVietnam Fertilisers (DMP) gained.

Pillar stocks Vincom Corp. (VIC) and Masan Group (MSN) also strongly rose today supporting the market.

At the close, the VN-Index recovered from a deep fall, gaining 0.45 points or 0.1 per cent to 432.11 points. Up to 153 stocks declined, compared with 50 ending flat and 106 up. Liquidity reached 79 million shares worth VND1.49 trillion ($72 million).

The HNX-Index slipped 0.27 points or 0.38 per cent, ending at 71.56 points. Liquidity reduced to 71.5 million shares worth VND651.6 billion ($31.5 million).