Both bourses down in last week

Hanoi (VNA) - Both bourses completed the last week of the month showing
falls in many shares. The VN-Index closed on August 1 at 447.11, a drop of
0.94 percent.

Of the 160 listed shares in Ho Chi Minh City , there were 63 gainers,
eight remained unchanged and 89 were losers.

Some blue chips continued falling. Saigon Securities Inc (SSI) hit the
floor to end at 39,800 VND a share, followed by STB (Sacombank), VNM
(Vinamilk), PVD (PV Drilling), ITA ( Tan Tao Industrial Park ) and VPL
(Vinpearl).

STB, the most active share during the week, also hit the floor to close at
22,900 VND a share. A total of 2.9 million shares changed hands.

Strong increases were also recorded in blue-chips, such as the Corporation
for Financing and Promoting Technology (FPT) and Hoa Phat (HPG) and Phu My
Fertiliser (DPM).

In HCM City, Bach Tuyet Cotton Corporation (BBT), which is on the verge of
bankruptcy, on August 1 sold only 60 shares mostly at floor prices.

Manh Ha, an investor with SeaBank Securities, said that after four
consecutive upward trends, the downward move of the VN-Index was not unusual
as it was at 450 points considered a reasonable level.

Quang Minh, an investor with Vietcombank Securities, expected little
change in August trading. He predicted that this would make stock prices
less attractive compared to June, adding that trends in the market would
rely on macro-economic factors.

The Hanoi bourse saw a strong decrease of 2.87 points to close at
140.45 points. More than 5.2 million shares were traded worth a total of
168.9 billion VND.

There were 45 gainers, 85 losers, two share prices remained unchanged and
14 were inactive.

Foreigners were net buyers of 276,100 shares worth 12.63 billion VND,
while they sold 100,200 shares worth more than 4 billion VND.-