Local stocks retreat following falling oil prices
Vietnamese shares on January 26 pulled back from a four-year jump early this week as a sharp fall in oil prices dragged down investor confidence on global markets.
The benchmark VN Index on the HCM Stock Exchange fell 0.9% to close at 537.73 points and the HNX Index on the Hanoi Stock Exchange dropped 1.1% to end at 75.51 points.
Oil prices on January 26 continued to fall near their twelve-year lows after Iraq announced a record output last month and planned to raise production this year.
Benchmark crude West Texas Intermediate (WTI) dropped 0.8% to trade at US$30 a barrel while London-traded Brent crude lost 0.9% to trade at US$30.24 a barrel.
 |
In addition, investors were looking forward to the decisions made by the United States (US) and Japan's central bank whether they should implement easing policies on the economies.
These two factors were the main reasons that dragged down investor confidence in local stocks on January 26.
The plastic sector index lost 3.9%, led by Binh Minh Plastic JSC (BMP), which dropped 3.3%, and Tien Phong Plastic JSC (NTP), which slumped 5.2%.
Other large-cap stocks that also helped pull down the markets included dairy firm Vinamilk (VNM), insurer Bao Viet Holdings (BVH), and Vietcombank (VCB), which fell 2.5%, 2% and 2.6%, respectively.
On the other side, PetroVietnam Gas Corporation (GAS), the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BID), and Vietinbank (CTG) lifted the market. They gained 3.8%, 3.1% and 1.2%, respectively.
On January 26, Vietnam's central bank cut its reference mid-point rate for exchange trading band by VND12 to VND21,898 for a US dollar.
Both local markets traded more than 183 million shares worth VND2.2 trillion (US$98 million), a decrease of 24% from previous day’s trading value.
