Illustrative image (Photo:dantri)Vietnamese shares joined those on other Asian markets on August 24 as they experienced the hardest fall since the beginning of the year, dragged down by the latest Chinese stock rout.
China 's Shanghai Composite Index sank the most since 2007, diving 8.5 percent to close at a six-month low. Stocks exchanges in the region from Japan to Indonesia were also hit hard following the Chinese stock crash.
In Vietnam , the benchmark VN-Index on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange also dived more than 29 points, or 5.28 percent, to close the August 24 session at 526.93 points, slightly above the yearly bottom of 518.22 seen on December 17, 2014.
This was the second time the VN-Index has dropped more than 5 percent during its 15 years of operation. The first time happened on May 8 this year during the territorial dispute between Vietnam and China on the East Sea .
On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index also lost 5.81 percent to end the session at 73.09 points. About 64 trillion VND (2.84 billion USD) evaporated from the two exchanges on August 24. Shares in the HCM City market lost 56.6 trillion VND (2.5 billion USD).
Oil and gas companies in the domestic market were also hit hard. PV Gas (GAS), PetroVietnam Drilling and Wells Service (PVD), PetroVietnam Drilling Mud (PVC) and PetroVietnam Coating (PVB) all dropped by the daily limit of 7-10 percent.
The overall market atmosphere was pessimistic as nearly 70 percent out of a total of 674 stocks declined (of which 180 fell the highest percentage allowed by the authority). Only 53 shares, or 8 percent, climbed.
More than 245 million shares worth over 3.8 trillion VND (168.9 million USD) were traded by the end of the session on the two bourses, down 2 percent in volume but up 9 percent in value compared with August 21’s levels.
Foreign investors returned as net buyers in the two markets on the day, ending a seven-day net selling streak. They picked up shares worth a combined 186 billion VND (8.3 million USD) on the two exchanges after unloading a total net sell of around 700 billion VND (31.1 million USD) in the last seven sessions.-VNA
