Index drops on global unease

Hanoi (VNA) - Share prices continued to fall on Nov. 18 on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, with mixed investor sentiment.

The VN-Index lost 4.36 points, or 1.26 percent, to close at 340.69, while
trading volume increased slightly to nearly 12 million shares on a turnover
of 362.5 billion VND (21.6 million USD).

Trading activity continued to be minimal. Only Sacombank (STB) showed
significant activity, with 2.2 million shares traded, while runner-up as
most active share, Saigon Securities Inc (SSI), saw only 923,000 shares
change hands.

"We are seeing caution from buyers, both domestic and foreign", commented a
Dai Viet Securities report. "It's a necessary attitude at this time, as the
world economy is witnessing highly complex developments."
The report noted that the crisis had spread to retail and to
manufacturing industries, with such major names as GM and Ford now
struggling to survive.

A Vietnam International Securities Co report also showed worries about the
short-term outlook for the economy, citing news that Standard&Poor's was
considering lowering Vietnam 's credit rating. The report cited Deutsche
Bank and Citigroup data predicting that Vietnam 's economic growth would
slow to 5.2 percent next year, while the US , Japanese and EU economies
are all entering 2009 in recession.

Bloomberg chairman Peter Grauer told Dau tu Chung khoan (Securities
Investment) last week that declines in economic growth would certainly
affect companies' profits, and would slash share values. He said the
downturn might last until the end of 2010.

Shares prices in Hanoi on Nov. 18 bucked the trend, as the HASTC-Index
rose by 0.93 percent to end the day at 111.38. About 7.5 million shares
changed hands for a total value of 233.6 billion VND (14 million
USD).-Enditem