Vietnam's stock market down on foreign selling

Vietnam's stock market witnessed a strong foreign selling during the week, pulling down the national VN-Index. Analysts said that the moves of foreign selling are partially related to the information of the United States' economy. Recently, the chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve (FED) has said that it is likely to gradually withdraw stimulus packages, while increasing government bond interest rates, local VNExpress quoted analysts as saying. FED's move may lead to the withdrawal of foreign investors from emerging markets, including Vietnam, said analysts. However, along with the net selling of foreign investors, the buying power of local investors remained high, which proves that Vietnam's stock market is entering new phase with the lead of local investors. The VN-Index of the national bourse Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HoSE) went down 0.67 points or 1.13 percent to close at 498.84 points on Friday. During the week, VN-Index lost 10.19 point or 2.04 percent against last Friday's closing session. The index experienced two ups and three downs, posting the highest level of 503.37 points on Wednesday and the lowest level of 498.52 points on Monday. Last week VN-Index ranged from 509.03 points to 524.56 points. A total of 94.114 million shares worth 1.661 trillion VND (79. 67 million U.S. dollars) changed hands at the HoSE on Friday, an increase of 90.24 percent in volume and 104.41 percent in value against 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 553.57 points on Friday, down 1.44 points, or 0.26 percent against the previous trading day. A total of 46.476 million shares were traded, worth 1.064 trillion VND. On the country's northern bourse, Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index concluded at 64.26 points, down 0.27 points, or 0.42 percent on Friday against the previous trading day's closing session.