Investors responded negatively tohigher petrol prices and electricity rates announced on Feb. 22,sending share prices plunging across-the-board on the HCM StockExchange.
The VN-Index lost 2.69 percent of itsvalue to end the trading session at 496.29 points, while nearly 90percent of codes lost value.
The overall value of trades rose slightly, however, to 1 trillion VND(52.6 million USD), on a cummulative volume of 25.8 million shares.
On the Hanoi Stock Exchange on Feb. 23, the HNX-Index also dropped by2.4 percent to close at 161.56 points. The value of the day’s tradesreached 329.5 billion VND (17.3 million USD) on a volume of 10.4million shares.
The announcement of higher fuel and electricity costs dovetailed withinflation worries to make investors skittish. February CPI figures wereannounced on Feb. 23 to have climbed to 1.68 percent in HCM City and2.16 percent in Hanoi .
But Au Viet Securities Co investment specialist Ta Thu Tin saidinvestors seemed to respond more negatively to the fuel price andelectricity rate increases.
Inflation in February was no surprise and acceptable, as it was often above 2 percent every year during Tet, said Tin.
“But the fuel price increase worries investors about the possibility ofhigh inflation in March, when it is usually low,” Tin said.
The State Bank’s impending move, announced on Feb. 23, to allowcommercial banks to negotiate lending interest rates with enterprisescould result in interest as high as 16-17 percent per year, increasingcredit costs to businesses, Tin added.
Foreign investors remained net buyers on both stock exchanges, buying a net of 77 billion VND (4 million USD) worth of shares./.
The VN-Index lost 2.69 percent of itsvalue to end the trading session at 496.29 points, while nearly 90percent of codes lost value.
The overall value of trades rose slightly, however, to 1 trillion VND(52.6 million USD), on a cummulative volume of 25.8 million shares.
On the Hanoi Stock Exchange on Feb. 23, the HNX-Index also dropped by2.4 percent to close at 161.56 points. The value of the day’s tradesreached 329.5 billion VND (17.3 million USD) on a volume of 10.4million shares.
The announcement of higher fuel and electricity costs dovetailed withinflation worries to make investors skittish. February CPI figures wereannounced on Feb. 23 to have climbed to 1.68 percent in HCM City and2.16 percent in Hanoi .
But Au Viet Securities Co investment specialist Ta Thu Tin saidinvestors seemed to respond more negatively to the fuel price andelectricity rate increases.
Inflation in February was no surprise and acceptable, as it was often above 2 percent every year during Tet, said Tin.
“But the fuel price increase worries investors about the possibility ofhigh inflation in March, when it is usually low,” Tin said.
The State Bank’s impending move, announced on Feb. 23, to allowcommercial banks to negotiate lending interest rates with enterprisescould result in interest as high as 16-17 percent per year, increasingcredit costs to businesses, Tin added.
Foreign investors remained net buyers on both stock exchanges, buying a net of 77 billion VND (4 million USD) worth of shares./.
