Market sinks as investors lock in profits

Major stocks led the market again. Pillar stocks BaoViet Holdings (BVH) and Vincom Corp. (VIC) both hit the floor. Banking shares Eximbank (EIB), Vietinbank (CTG), Sacombank (STB), Military Bank (MBB) slipped.

Active real estate stocks like Becamex Infrastructure Development (IJC), Tan Tao Investment Industry Corp. (ITA), Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAG), Licogi 16 (LCG) also sharply fell.

VN30, the benchmark measuring movement of top major stocks, lost up to 12.75 points or 2.78 per cent to 445.48 points.

More than half of the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) went down, dragging the benchmark VN-Index off as high much as 9.48 points (2.34 per cent) to 395.54 points. Some 169 stocks ended lower, compared with 61 up and 76 unchanged.

Hanoi Stock Exchange’s (HNX) HNX-Index saw a similar loss of 2.63 per cent (1.63 points), ending at 61.04 points. Just 58 stocks ended up, 133 stocks ended flat and more than 200 remaining stocks fell.

Leading stocks fell the most on the northern bourse, with VNDirect Securities (VND) hitting the floor, PetroVietnam Construction (PVX), Saigon-Hanoi Bank (SHB), Habubank (HBB), Vietnam Construction and Import-Export (VCG) all off more than 6 per cent.

A few producing stocks still saw strong gains, among them Dong Phu Rubber (DPR), Binh Dinh Minerals (BMC), Hau Giang Pharmaceutical (DHG), Long An Food Processing Export (LAF) on HoSE, Tien Phong Plastics (NTP), Lamdong Pharmaceutical (LDP).

Liquidity fell as the buyers kept cautious ahead of a looming downward trend. Total volume was of 34.6 million shares worth VND679 billion ($32.8 million) on the HoSE, and hitting just 32.4 million shares worth VND267.3 billion ($12.9 million) on the HNX.