Market plummets on rumours

The VN-Index of Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) plunged 4.24 per cent or 17.41 points to 392.82 points, after stocks massively down to floor prices. Only 13 stocks advanced on the bourse, while 256 stocks were in red.

The HNX-Index tumbled 3.42 points or 5.29 per cent to 61.23 points on he Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX).

Local investors strongly increased their fears about possible upheavals in the economy, as numerous news and rumours of further bankers’ arrests. Some local media quoted their own source from Ministry of Police that Asia Commercial Bank’s (ACB) CEO Ly Xuan Hai had been prosecuted.

The State Securities Commission even had to release a statement recommending investors to stay calm, saying it would “enhance checking, supervising and inspecting the investors who spread false reports in order to seek profits.”

The market watchdog also required brokerage firms to help investors to “understand the situation.”

Meanwhile, brokerage firms massively stopped or cut down margin lending to investors in some banking stocks, among them FPT Securities, MB Securities, Vietcombank Securities and some other foreign-backed firms.

All banking stocks were sold out at the floor prices with millions units offered. Asia Commercial Bank (ACB), Sacombank (STB) and Eximbank (EIB), the stocks that were believed to relate to Kien, saw very weak demand.

Eximbank (EIB) has only 17,000 shares matched, 10 times lower than the average trading volumes in past week. Asia Commercial Bank (ACB) hit the floor with more than 260,000 units matched. Sacombank (STB) had 2.1 million shares matched.

Even bullish investors had lost their confidence. Matching value reduced to VND639.1 billion ($30.9 million) on HoSE and to VND283.3 billion ($13.7 million) on HNX.

Put-through transaction kept low. HoSE’s liquidity reached 38.8 million shares worth VND679.5 billion ($32.8 million). The figure was 34.9 million shares worth VND322 billion ($15.6 million) on HNX.

However, bottom fishing still rallied at Military Bank (MBB). The stock outperformed with 7.3 million shares matched, and also had nearly 100,000 bidding orders un-executed at the close.