Liquidity shrinks big time

The VN-Index of Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) lost 6 points, or 1.35 per cent, ending at 439.77 points. The HNX-Index of Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX) dropped 1.24 points or 1.66 per cent to close at 73.24 points.

Stocks largely ended lower on both bourses. Some 181 stocks lost on the HoSE, compared with 66 advancing. The figures were of 213 stocks and 60 stocks on the HNX.

Liquidity sunk further on weak demand for shares. Total volume of the  HoSE reached just 50.7 million shares, worth VND652 billion ($31.5 million). The HNX saw just 79.2 million shares worth VND655 billion ($31.6 million) changing hands. Such liquidity was just half of the average level in March.

The market fall today reversed yesterday’s rise. Actually, analysts had previously worried that yesterday’s rise was just a bull-trap as demand for shares remained quite weak.

“We do not think that the market correction period has finished. A market gain without a rise in liquidity is just a temporary rebound in a correction period,” said VNDirect Securities.

Selling trend focused on speculative small-cap stocks, which had strongly jumped in previous sessions.

On the HoSE, real-estate small-cap stocks Vietnam Electricity Construction (VNE), Ninh Van Bay Real Estate (NVT), Hoang Quan Consulting-Trading-Service Real Estate Corp. (HQC), PetroVietnam-Idico Long Son Industrial Park Investment (PXL), Petroleum Industrial and Civil Construction (PXI) largely sunk.

Large-cap stocks in financial sectors saw just modest falls. Saigon Securities Inc. (SSI) slipped 1.04 per cent, while PetroVietnam Finance (PVF) even rose 2.44 per cent. Banking stocks Military Bank (MBB), Eximbank (EIB), Vietcombank (VCB) lost 1-2 per cent each.

On the HNX, securities company shares were strongly sold, among them mainly stocks of small companies like Asia Pacific Securities (APS), Orient Securities (ORS), Phu Hung Securities (PHS), Trang An Securities (TAS). Some stocks like VNDirect Securities (VND), Hoa Binh Securities (HBS) meanwhile outperformed the sector to end higher.

Habubank (HBB) and Hanoi Investment General Corp. (SHN) were suddenly strongly purchased today, with as many as 15 million HBB shares and 10 million SHN shares matched. The two stocks advanced 1.45 and 6.67 per cent, respectively.