Possible fall of CPI fails to boost Vietnam's sluggish stock market

Positive response to the forecast of a possible fall of consumer price index (CPI) in March has failed to boost Vietnam's sluggish bourses, as low liquidity remains a threat to a new rally, said analysts from the FPT Securities Company.The market sentiment almost remained the same during trading sessions throughout the week, with alternate ups and downs.However, latest supportive information, including reducing interest rate and establishing an asset management company in March by the Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam, is expected to have positive impacts on the market in the near future, as investors can use part of their cash to buy in this period, insiders predicted.The VN-Index of the southern Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) went down 1.8 points or 0.37 percent to close at 489.99 points on Friday. During the week, VN-Index gained 8.64 point or 1.79 percent as compared with last Friday's closing session. The index experienced three ups and two downs, posting a high of 491.79 points on Thursday and a low of 479.13 points on Monday.Last week VN-Index fluctuated between 473.18 points and 481.35 points.A total of 54.55 million shares worth 992.03 billion VND (47.57 million U.S. dollars) changed hands at the HoSE on Friday, a decrease of 4.81 percent in volume and 36.63 percent in value from Thursday.VN-30 index, the new benchmark index for the HoSE which has been applied since Feb. 6, 2012 and tracks the 30 leading shares by both market capitalization and liquidity, closed at 554.84 points on Friday, down 4.55 points, or 0.81 percent, from the previous trading day. A total of 19.89 million shares were traded, worth 585.2 billion VND (28.06 million U.S. dollars).On the country's northern bourse, Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX- Index concluded at 60.93 points, down 0.56 points, or 0.91 percent, on Friday compared to the previous trading day's closing session