VN shares lower after two-day rally

On the HCM Stock Exchange, the VN-Index inched lower from a 7-week high to 579.6 points, off 0.3 per cent from Tuesday's close. The Index rose 3.4 per cent during the previous two days.

Meanwhile, the HNX-Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange saw the first decline in six days yesterday, falling 0.9 per cent to end the session at 79.7 points.

"A decline today is not a surprise after the market rallied quite sharply in the past two sessions," said Tran Duc Anh, a stock analyst at Bao Viet Securities Co.

Shares were boosted earlier in the week after 12 Pacific Rim countries agreed on the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP). Investors will now be closely watching business results of listed companies in the third quarter, Anh wrote in a report yesterday on the company's website.

Shares advanced in early morning but gradually declined towards the end of the session. Overall, almost 40 per cent of 676 trading stocks lost value while over 24 per cent advanced.

Large-cap stocks took a big hit with 20 per cent of the top 30 shares by market value and liquidity on the main bourse in HCM City slumped, led by banks.

Eight of nine listed banks slipped, of which Bank for Investment and Development of Viet Nam (BID) was the biggest loser with a 2.5 per cent decrease. Most others dropped less than 2 per cent.

Export stocks, particularly garment and seafood exporters, the biggest gainers of the market in the past two sessions, dropped as some investors took profits. Losers included Thanh Cong Garment and Textile Investment Trading (TCM), TNG Investment and Trading (TNG) and Hung Vuong Corp (HVG), which decreased between 3 per cent and 4 per cent each.

Oil and gas shares bucked the trend on bright prospect of global oil prices. PV Gas (GAS), PetroVietnam Drilling and Wells Service (PVD) and PetroVietnam Coating (PVB) climbed between 2 to 4 per cent.

Brent, a global benchmark for crude, hit a one-month high of US$52.53 per barrel yesterday while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil managed to climb above its late August peak to as high as $49.44 per barrel.

Liquidity declined from Tuesday with a total of 198 million shares worth over VND3.24 trillion ($144 million) being traded yesterday in the two markets, down 17 per cent in volume and 11 per cent in value compared with the previous session.