Market starts 2012 as it left 2011

Real estate major stocks Kinhbac City Development Share Holding Corp. (KBC), Song Da Urban & Industrial Zone Investment and Development (SJS) and Tan Tao Investment Industry Corp. (ITA) hit the ceiling, while Quoc Cuong Gia Lai (QCG) soaring 3.73 per cent.

Same-sector stocks Hoang Quan Consulting-Trading-Service Real Estate Corp (HQC) and BECAMEX Infrastructure Development (IJC), Licogi 16 (LCG) also strongly jumped with large matching volumes.

Mineral stocks Nari Hamico Minerals (KSS), Bac Giang Exploitable Mineral (BGM), Binh Thuan Hamico Mineral (KSA) suddenly rallied, hitting the ceiling with large matching volumes.

Some financial shares like Sacombank (STB), PetroVietnam Finance (PVF), Military Bank (MBB) significantly gained. Blue-chip Bao Viet Holdings (BVH) hit the ceiling.

Selling pressure in previous sessions had significantly eased, helping more than half the market ending up. Some 123 stocks were higher on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), outrunning 95 off.

However, the market kept quite with major stocks largely declining and liquidity tumbling. The benchmark VN-Index lost 1.55 points or 0.44 per cent to 350 points.

Total volume sunk to 20.6 million shares worth VND320.5 billion ($15.5 million) on the main bourse. Whereas, put-through volume still high at 6.9 million shares worth VND142 billion ($6.9 million), led by STB and dairy giant Vinamilk (VNM).

Pillar stocks VNM, Vincom Corp. (VIC) and Masan Group (MSN) strongly dropped while blue-chip Ocean Group (OGC) hitting the floor.

Financial stocks Saigon Securities Inc. (SSI), Vietcombank (VCB), Vietinbank (CTG) sharply declined, dragging down the market.

Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX) saw even bigger loss, with the HNX-Index down 1.95 points or 3.32 per cent to 56.79 points. Although advancers strongly outran decliners 121 to 86 on the northern bourse, large-cap stocks like Kim Long Securities (KLS), Asia Commercial Bank (ACB), Habubank (HBB), Vietnam Construction and Import-Export (VCG) were off or flat dragging down the market,

Liquidity was weak at as low as 14.7 million shares worth VND117.7 billion ($5.7 million).

Meanwhile, several high-liquidity stocks were positive, with PetroVietnam Construction (PVX), VNDirect Securities (VND), PetroVietnam Power Land (PVL) and a mass of low-price stocks ending higher and having large matching volumes.