HANOI: Vietnamese shares yesterday extended their losses for a second day on the two local markets as low global oil prices sent energy stocks down. The benchmark VN Index on the HCM Stock Exchange dropped 0.7 per cent to close at 561.19 points and the HNX Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange lost 0.3 per cent to finish at 77.94 points.
US benchmark crude oil West Texas Intermediate yesterday traded at $44.44 a barrel, down slightly from Monday’s value. WTI has fallen nearly 10 per cent since it hit a two-month peak at $49.20 a barrel on August 31. At the end of yesterday, local energy firms were down an average of 2.4 per cent.
Among the largest energy firms, Petrovietnam Gas Corp (GAS) fell 1.3 per cent, Petrovietnam Coating JSC (PVB) dropped 1.4 per cent and Petrovietnam Drilling & Well Services (PVD) was down nearly one per cent.
Cuts in the interest rates for dollar saving accounts made by the State Bank of Viet Nam on Monday continued to undermine the banking sector as financial firms lost an average of 0.5 per cent on top of a loss of 1.9 per cent on Monday. Vietcombank (VCB) dropped 0.5 per cent, and both Vietinbank (CTG) and Sai Gon-Ha Noi Bank (SHB) were down 1.5 per cent.
Shares fell despite positive news about Viet Nam’s economy. The Government said gross domestic product likely grew 6.8 percent in the third quarter compared to the same year-ago period. Last week, the Asia Development Bank raised its 2015 growth forecast for Vietnam to 6.5 per cent from 6.1 per cent. Market volume slightly improved from Monday with nearly 131.6 million shares traded worth VND1.93 trillion ($85.7 million), an increase of 5.8 per cent.
