HCMC market ends week in positive mood

The Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange ended the week on a brighter note Friday, following a surge on Thursday.

The VN-Index of 181 leading shares closed at 366.22, a slight rise of 2.37, 0.65 percent. The index increased by nearly nine percent over the week.

Of its members, 62 shares gained and 92 fell. Turnover reached 46 million shares worth VND1.42 trillion (US$79 million).

“Investor confidence is very high amid large inflows of cash into the market,” said a chief broker in Ho Chi Minh City.

Sacombank (STB), the exchange’s only listed lender, remained the most liquid shares, with more than 24 million shares being traded for VND239 billion.

The HCMC-based bank, partly owned by ANZ, gained VND300, 1.26 percent, to close at VND23,000.

Ha Nam Mineral Joint-Stock Company (KSH), which operates in metals and minerals, fell 4.61 percent to close at VND14,500. The company posted a 59 percent drop in first quarter profits, according to a statement on the bourse’s website.

Net income fell to VND2.47 billion, down from more than VND6 billion a year earlier, figures from the company’s statement showed. It did not give a reason for the decline.

Vinh Son-Song Hinh Hydropower Joint-Stock Company (VSH), the second-biggest power company on the stock exchange, shed 1.17 percent to VND33,900. Saigon Securities Inc. sold 819,328 shares in the company, cutting its holding to 6.1 million shares, less than 4.5 percent down from 5.1 percent, the exchange said on its website.

Ho Chi Minh Infrastructure Investment Company (CII), a construction and property specialist, advanced 4.99 percent to VND35,800. The company expects net profits to rise more than 51 percent in the first six months from a year earlier.

Net income may reach VND87 billion, up from VND57.5 billion in the same period last year, it said in a posting on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange’s website.

The smaller bourse in Hanoi made a contrast move, with the HaSTC-Index edging down 0.64 percent to finish at 131.23.

Source: SGGP

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