Vietnam's Hanoi stock witnesses relatively strong recovery

Vietnam's capital Hanoi stock exchange closed the year 2013 with a relatively strong recovery of the HNX-Index, especially in the fourth quarter. The market also opened a year with an uptrend, giving a positive signal for investors. Stock market index of Vietnam's capital Hanoi, HNX-Index, closed at 67.97 points on Friday, up 0.04 points, or 0.06 percent, against the previous trading day's closing session. A total of 40.673 million shares worth 265 billion Vietnamese dong (12.56 million U.S. dollars) were traded at the Hanoi Stock Exchange on Wednesday, an increase of 21.74 percent in volume and a decrease of 1.13 percent in value against Thursday. Prices of 69 stocks went up, 90 stocks fell down, while 75 stocks remained unchanged. During the four-day trading week, the HNX-Index experienced three ups and one down, posting the highest level of 67.97 points on Friday, and the lowest level of 66.95 points on Monday. Last week, HNX-Index ranged from 67.93 points to 68.3 points. In 2013, Vietnam's capital Hanoi stock exchange saw a volatility in the number of shares listing on the bourse with the joining of 11 new shares, bringing the total shares listed on the market to 377. The market posted a total listing volume of around 8.752 billion shares, worth over 87.5 trillion Vietnamese dong (4.15 billion U.S. dollars), an increase of 2.36 percent year-on-year. The index increased 10.75 points, or 18.83 percent compared to the closing session in 2012. With 250 trading sessions in 2013, the index experienced 133 ups, 116 downs and one unchanged session. During 2013, the index posted the lowest level of 57.61 points in April and the highest level of 68.3 points in December. In contrast with the recovery in price, in 2013, the market saw a decline of 12.88 percent in trading volume and 25.16 percent in value over 2012. Transaction of foreign investors contributed significantly to the operation of the Hanoi stock market in 2013. Throughout the year, foreign investors transacted 681.17 million shares, worth 7. 066 trillion Vietnamese dong (335 million U.S. dollars), up 33 percent in volume and 13.89 percent in value, with buying outnumbered selling.