Vietnam Stock Market News

VN-Index edges down, but may advance on economic data: broker   2009-09-05 - Thanh Nien, Bloomberg

The Ho Chi Minh City stock market declined for a second straight day on Friday but at least one broker expects it to jump to 700 by year-end thanks to promising economic data.

The VN-Index, a measure of 166 companies and four closed-end funds listed on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, opened in the green but profit-taking and loss-cutting sent it lower to close at 528.49.

Nearly 75 million shares changed hands as 123 stocks fell, 32 rose and 15 remained unchanged.

Foreign investors were net buyers on Friday, pumping a net value of VND64 billion into the market.

The VN-Index may “touch 700 at some point” by the end of December “if exports recover well,” Phan Anh Tuan, deputy general director of Hanoi-based Vincom Securities, said in a telephone interview Friday.

“The prospects for the local market are very good from now to the end of the year,” Tuan said. “By the end of October, all economic information will be revealed more clearly and no shock is expected on the policy front that would significantly affect the market.”

Growth has become more visible through expanding industrial and agricultural output after the first eight months, creating strong momentum for the remainder of the year, Government Office chief Nguyen Xuan Phuc said on September 1.

Tuan’s prediction contrasts with Credit Suisse Group AG’s advice on September 2 to sell Vietnam’s equities amid “excessive” valuations and slower lending.

The VN-Index, which advanced for a sixth straight month in August, surging 17 percent, has been beaten this year only by benchmark gauges in Peru, Sri Lanka and Istanbul.

The stock market’s “uptrend will continue although there will be some corrections along the way, and the index may go down to about 500 before jumping to 700,” Tuan said.

“In the third quarter, earnings of companies in sectors like commodities, real estate and confectionery are expected to outperform.”

Vincom Securities on February 16 predicted a further decline in Vietnamese stocks, one week before the VN-Index dropped to a four-year low.

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