The VN-Index of the southern bourse saw a sharp
decline on news that retail petrol price has increased by 30% to VND
19,000 a litre from today.


Selling orders flooded the bourse while buying was
weak. This was different compared to sessions in the previous week
while supply was big and demands was correspondent thus the VN-Index
still advanced or declined only slightly at the last trading of last
week.


The index suffered loss right at the opening of
today's session. Ending the session, VN-Index dropped 12.23 points,
equivalent to 2.53% to 470.82. Total market trading volume was over 16
million worth VND 746 billion with over 14 million of these traded via
order matching for VND 661 billion.


With BBT of Bach Tuyet Cotton Corporation allowed to
trade again today, the number of listed on the HOSE returned to 157. Of
these, 149 saw lost, most of them hitting maximum as they were traded
at ceiling prices, three stocks stayed unchanged while four others had
no trade.


The only one stock that gained in this session is SSI
of Saigon Securities Incorporation. The stock hit its ceiling price for
the 21st consecutive session. This stock was also the most traded stock
with more than 7 million units matched, accounting for nearly half of
the total matched trading volume. Foreign investors were the buyers of
all SSI shares traded today.


Foreign investors increased their buying with nearly
10 million units and fund certificates matched by their orders,
including over seven million SSI shares. In addition, they also sought
other stocks including FPT and DPM. They sold only 2.7 million units.


The HASTC-Index of the Hanoi bourse also saw a drop
though not as sharp as the southern bourse. Ending the session, the
index lost 1.4 points or 0.94% to close down at 148.28. Total market
volume was nearly 5.3 million worth VND 239 billion. There were only 13
gainers against 111 losers and 19 others had no trade.