Low oil prices drag on Vietnamese stocks

Hanoi (VNA) - Vietnamese shares on January 21 dropped for a second day and a sixth session in seven as energy stocks extended losses amid lower global oil prices.

The benchmark VN Index on the HCM Stock Exchange fell 1.4 percent to close at 521.88 points and the HNX Index on the Hanoi Stock Exchange lost 1.2 percent to end at 73.06 points.

The southern index has dropped 2.6 percent and the northern index has declined by 1.7 percent in the last two sessions.

The energy sector plunged again after global oil prices slid further. US benchmark crude West Texas Intermediate (WTI) lost 1.3 percent to trade at 27.99 USD a barrel and London-traded Brent crude fell 1 percent to trade at 27.61 USD a barrel.

Vietnam's biggest energy stock, PetroVietnam Gas Corporation (GAS), dropped 2.3 percent, PetroVietnam Drilling and Well Services Corporation (PVD) slumped 5.7 percent, and Petroleum Equipment Assembly and Metal Structure JSC (PXS) slipped 6.3 percent.

In addition, investor sentiment was also undermined by another slide in Asian stocks following a sell-off in US stock markets as fears of a slowdown of China's economy sent Japanese stocks down 2.4 percent and Chinese stocks falling 3.2 percent.

The biggest Vietnamese banks, such as Vietcombank (VCB), the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BID), and Vietinbank (CTG), also fell. These stocks were down 1.5 percent, 6.5 percent and 3 percent, respectively.

Leading stocks in other sectors such as the insurance sector, the construction sector and the brokerage sector also declined.

Insurer Bao Viet Holdings (BVH) lost 1.5 percent, construction firm Refrigeration Electrical Engineering Corporation (REE) fell 1.7 percent, and HCM Securities Corporation (HCM) decreased by 2.3 percent.

The market trading value on January 21 was 2.3 trillion VND (102.8 million USD) with more than 196 million shares, a slight increase from previous day's figures.-VNA