Bank stocks were the main players throughout last week's trading, with their strong growth pushing the two markets up.
All large cap shares, including those of Vietcombank (VCB), Eximbank (EIB), Military Bank (MBB), Sacombank (STB), Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BID) in Ho Chi Minh City, Saigon-Hanoi Bank (SHB), and Asia Commercial Bank (ACB) in Hanoi, rose substantially following information that the central bank hiked the USD-VND exchange rate by 1 percent on January 6.
This is the first depreciation of the Vietnamese dong this year. According to the State Bank, this move was aimed at bringing the market in line with the international and domestic financial market climates and at stabilising the forex market.
Last month, the governor of the central bank said that the foreign exchange rate would be adjusted by no more than 2 percent this year.
Since late 2014, the value of the greenback has risen strongly, as compared to other major currencies, including the euro, British pound and Japanese yen.
On the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, the VN-Index increased by 4.42 percent during the course of the week, ending at 569.73 points on January 9 session. The VN30, which tracks the top 30 shares by market value and liquidity, also surged by 3.3 percent to close at 618.41 points.
Besides bank stocks, a rebound of oil and gas stocks also contributed to the market rally last week.
The biggest stock in terms of market value, PV Gas (GAS), made gains in the last three sessions, wherein it hit the ceiling price of 74,000 VND (3.46 USD) per share on January 9, following news that the company will buy back 10 million shares with the maximum price of 100,000 VND (4.67 USD) per share this quarter. PetroVietnam Drilling and Wells Service Corp (PVD) also climbed by more than 5 percent on January 9, despite the continued decline of global oil prices last week.
However, liquidity was less as compared to the previous week, with the daily market volume reaching over 101 million shares worth 1.7 trillion VND (79.4 million USD).
Moreover, on the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index rose by 3.21 percent to finish the week at 85.65 points. Nearly 52 million shares worth 669 billion VND (31.3 million USD) per session were traded in the week.
Furthermore, both markets saw a mix of foreign investors over the course of last week. They were net sellers on the HCM City bourse, unloading shares worth some 82 billion VND (3.8 million USD), but remained net buyers throughout the week with a combined net buy value of 43.4 billion VND (2 million USD).
Analysts at the financial company Vietstock predict that the market will see a slight improvement this month, supported by the positive performance of listed companies in the fourth quarter of 2014, which will be released mid-January.
In addition, businesses are expected to benefit from the declining interest expenses and lower fuel costs, and investments will most likely flow in blue chips, particularly stocks in the consumer, real estate and construction sectors.-VNA
All large cap shares, including those of Vietcombank (VCB), Eximbank (EIB), Military Bank (MBB), Sacombank (STB), Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BID) in Ho Chi Minh City, Saigon-Hanoi Bank (SHB), and Asia Commercial Bank (ACB) in Hanoi, rose substantially following information that the central bank hiked the USD-VND exchange rate by 1 percent on January 6.
This is the first depreciation of the Vietnamese dong this year. According to the State Bank, this move was aimed at bringing the market in line with the international and domestic financial market climates and at stabilising the forex market.
Last month, the governor of the central bank said that the foreign exchange rate would be adjusted by no more than 2 percent this year.
Since late 2014, the value of the greenback has risen strongly, as compared to other major currencies, including the euro, British pound and Japanese yen.
On the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, the VN-Index increased by 4.42 percent during the course of the week, ending at 569.73 points on January 9 session. The VN30, which tracks the top 30 shares by market value and liquidity, also surged by 3.3 percent to close at 618.41 points.
Besides bank stocks, a rebound of oil and gas stocks also contributed to the market rally last week.
The biggest stock in terms of market value, PV Gas (GAS), made gains in the last three sessions, wherein it hit the ceiling price of 74,000 VND (3.46 USD) per share on January 9, following news that the company will buy back 10 million shares with the maximum price of 100,000 VND (4.67 USD) per share this quarter. PetroVietnam Drilling and Wells Service Corp (PVD) also climbed by more than 5 percent on January 9, despite the continued decline of global oil prices last week.
However, liquidity was less as compared to the previous week, with the daily market volume reaching over 101 million shares worth 1.7 trillion VND (79.4 million USD).
Moreover, on the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index rose by 3.21 percent to finish the week at 85.65 points. Nearly 52 million shares worth 669 billion VND (31.3 million USD) per session were traded in the week.
Furthermore, both markets saw a mix of foreign investors over the course of last week. They were net sellers on the HCM City bourse, unloading shares worth some 82 billion VND (3.8 million USD), but remained net buyers throughout the week with a combined net buy value of 43.4 billion VND (2 million USD).
Analysts at the financial company Vietstock predict that the market will see a slight improvement this month, supported by the positive performance of listed companies in the fourth quarter of 2014, which will be released mid-January.
In addition, businesses are expected to benefit from the declining interest expenses and lower fuel costs, and investments will most likely flow in blue chips, particularly stocks in the consumer, real estate and construction sectors.-VNA
