Brisk Trade but Falling Prices

April 17, 2012 | 17:00

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Traders at the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX) were locking-in-profits on Tuesday as stocks fell to the 80-point level.

The benchmark HNX-Index slipped 0.46 points or 0.58 per cent, ending at 79.91 points.

A number of securities company stocks eased back after rallying in the previous session. VNDirect Securities (VND) fell sharply, slipping 5.8 per cent despite the company’s announcement this morning of robust profits in the first quarter. Kim Long Securities (KLS) lost 4.35 per cent. Highly liquid stocks like Bao Viet Securities (BVS), Wall Street Securities (WSS) and Asia-Pacific Securities (APS) saw similar falls.

Major stocks of the northern bourse also eased back after the previous sessions’ strong gains. PetroVietnam Construction (PVX) lost 3.2 per cent with more than 6 million shares sold while Vietnam Construction and Import-Export (VCG) was off 4.11 per cent.

The most active stock, Habubank, followed the same downward trend, falling 2.78 per cent with 11.1 million shares matched.

However, transactions continued to be brisk. Advances outran declines 153 to 125 with 75 ending flat.

While there was strong selling pressure, demand remained high. Liquidity added up to 105.9 million shares worth VND1.22 trillion ($59 million).

Meanwhile, the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) maintained its rallying momentum. The VN-Index ended up 4.58 points or 0.98 per cent rising to 472.84 points.

Stocks of the major brokerage firms Saigon Securities Inc. (SSI) and Ho Chi Minh City Securities (HCM) both rose sharply. Real estate stock of Refrigeration Electrical Engineering Corp. (REE), Vietnam Electricity Construction (VNE) and Investment and Trading Of Real Estate (ITC) hit the ceiling with large matching volumes.

HoSE-listed mid and small-cap stocks continued to be in demand. Petro Capital Infrastructure Investment (PTL), Vietnam Mechanization Electrification and Construction (MCG) and Petrovietnam Transportation Corp. (PVT) all saw big bidding volumes at high prices.

Two dozen stocks on the HoSE had matching volume that exceeded 1 million units today. Military Bank (MBB) outperformed the market with 5 million shares matched, followed by the two financial stocks Sacombank Securities (SBS) and SSI. Vietcombank (VCB) hit the ceiling.

High energy pushed liquidity to 118 million shares, selling for as much as VND2 trillion ($96.6 million). Some 197 stocks ended higher on the bourse with 111 hitting the ceiling. Sixty-six stocks ended off.