The stock market continued its downward spiral on Aug. 11, with 50 percent of codes posting losses on both exchanges.

Slumps on the global stock markets overnight as well as unresolved problems in the domestic economy continued to drive investors away from risky assets, FPT Securities Co analysts wrote in a note on Aug. 11.

On the HCM Stock Exchange, the VN-Index lost 0.4percent of its value to close at 384.44, with the value of trades declining 18percent from the previous day's level to just 398 billion VND (19.3 million USD). Volume was just 20.3 million shares.

While most blue chips decreased, software producer FPT went against the trend, rising 2.9percent to close at 54,000 VND per share after reporting pre-tax profits on Aug. 11 of over 1.34 trillion VND (65.4 million USD) for the first seven months of the year.

"FPT projects that it will meet its growth target of 30percent this year," the company announced.

On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index also dropped by 1.2percent on Aug. 11 to close at 65.82 points. The value of trades decreased by 23percent to just 203 billion VND (9.8 million USD) as 20.9 million shares changed hands.

With shares falling to an all-time low, many analysts were saying that now was the right time for long-term and value-oriented investments. However, Nguyen Huu Viet, IRS Securities Co's head of analysis, warned that many long-term investors incurred losses a year ago with similar advice.

The prices of many stocks seen as "hot" last year have declined by almost 100percent since then, Viet said, with many blue chips losing 70-80percent of their value.

"Even investors who have sufficient financial capacity to hold onto investments for 18 months are not usually patient enough to pursue long-term investment," said Bao Minh Securities Co deputy director Vu Quang Vinh. "The nature of speculative capital is that it is active and tends to flow into places offering maximum profits within the shortest period of time."

Foreign investors concluded on Aug. 11 as net buyers on both bourses, picking up a net of about 11 billion VND (555,400 USD) worth of shares./.