Oil stocks narrow market's decline

Oil stocks narrow market's decline

The benchmark VN-Index on the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange was down 0. 一 四 per cent, closing the session at  九 八 四. 四 六 points.The southern market index was down 0. 二 八 per cent, closing at  九 八 五. 八 一 points on Tuesday.Nearly  二 一 七 million shares, worth VNĐ 四. 四 trillion (US$ 一 八 八 million), were traded on the southern bourse.On the Hà Nội Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index lost 0. 一 七 per cent to end Wednesday at  一0 七. 三0 points.The northern market index lost 0. 二 二 per cent to end at  一0 七. 四 八 points on Tuesday.The blue-chip VN 三0 Index was down 0. 二 三 per cent to  九0 一. 五0 points.Twenty of the  三0 largest stocks by market capitalisation ended in negative territory while seven increased. The remaining three ended flat.On a sector basis,  一0 of the  二0 sectors saw share prices drop, including real estate, securities, insurance and food and beverages.The  一0 industry indices were down between 0. 三 and  一. 二 per cent, data on vietstock.vn showed.Large-caps like HDBank (HDB), Vietinbank (CTG), Saigon Securities Company (SSI), insurer Bảo Việt Holdings (BVH), Việt Nam Construction and Import-Export Joint-Stock Corporation (VCG) and Vincom Retail (VRE) saw big drops and put pressure on the market indices.Meanwhile, petroleum stocks traded in positive territory, boosted by the increase of oil prices.Oil prices rose for a fourth day on Wednesday thanks to OPEC’s further tightening of supply.According to Reuters, Brent futures climbed  三 五 cents, or 0. 五 per cent, to $ 六 九. 七 二 a barrel, after reaching $ 六 九. 八 七, the highest since November  一 二 and near the psychologically important level of $ 七0 per barrel.US West Texas Intermediate crude extended by  二 二 cents, or 0. 四 per cent, to $ 六 二. 八0 cents a barrel, earlier going up to $ 六 二. 九0, the highest since November  七.On the Vietnamese stock market, PetroVietnam Gas (GAS), PetroVietnam Drilling and Well Services (PVD), Drilling Mud Joint Stock Corporation (PVC), PetroViet Nam Coating JSC (PVB) and PetroVietnam Technical Services Corporation (PVS) went up between 0. 五 and  六. 一 per cent, according to data on vietstock.vn.According to Sài Gòn-Hà Nội Securities JSC (SHS), liquidity declined and remained below the average level of the last  二0 sessions, which showed that investors were cautious and chose to observe the market.Foreign investors also net sold about VNĐ 四 四 billion on both exchanges and this had a negative impact on market sentiment, SHS said.Việt Dragon Securities Company (VDSC) said in its daily report that domestic demand seemed weak. There are not many options to disburse at this time.“Some small and mid-cap stocks increased, but the number was not much. Low liquidity remained a concern. Investors should hold their disbursements until there are more positive signs,” VDSC said.The UPCOM Index on the Unlisted Public Company Market (UPCoM) edged down 0. 八 一 per cent to finish at  五 六. 六 四 points.— VNS