An SSI financial and monetary report released onMay 9 shows that since the outset of 2018, the stock market experienced twodownward periods in February and April, when the liquidity of derivatives grewstrongly.
The value of transactions in the derivativesmarket increased by three times from the average of over 2 trillion VND (87.7million USD) in the beginning of April to 6 trillion VND (263.1 million USD) atthe end of the month. It peaked at 7.1 trillion VND (311.3 million USD) on May3, approximating the total transaction value of 7.3 trillion VND (320.1 millionUSD) in the stock market.
The derivatives market attracted a considerableamount of capital from the stock market, mainly from domestic investors.
SSI said Vietnam’s securities market witnessed aseries of widespread nosedives when the number of codes with declines doublingthose with increases. All groups of key shares fell sharply, causing apsychological pressure on the overall market.
The benchmark VN Index surged in the firstquarter of 2018 to set a record of 1,204.33 points on April 9, up 220 points or22.4 percent from the end of last year and 49 percent in six months.
However, the market reported continuous plungesince then when VN Index dropped to 1,050.26 points in late April, losing 154points or 12.8 percent of the new record. Total market capitalisation decreasedby 20 billion USD to 173 billion USD in the HCM Stock Exchange (HOSE), theHanoi Stock Exchange (HNX) and the Unlisted Public Company Market (UPCoM).
Foreign investors were net buyers last month,which was attributable to a tumble in the global stock market in February,changes in the world interest rates when the administration of US PresidentDonald Trump took drastic actions to protect US businesses, the possibility ofan interest rate hike by FED sooner than expected, and the risk of a widespreadtrade war.
That more large-cap stocks carried out IPOs andwere listed in the market might also have led to foreign funds’ restructuringof their investment items, according to SSI.-VNA