VietNamNet Bridge – National stocks were left reeling on Friday after what analysts dubbed the "worst week of the year" for trading.

It brought a bleak end to a miserable month where stock indices fell nearly 4 per cent on October's numbers.

The VN-Index on the HCM City Stock Exchange retreated 1 per cent over the week to close at 377.82 points, while the HNX-Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange dropped slightly by 0.35 per cent to 51.05 points. The VN30, tracking the southern city's top shares, also fell 1.34 per cent, reaching 443.68 points.

"Last week was the worst of the year with relatively low liquidity," Maritime Bank Securities Co analyst Tran Quoc Hoan wrote in a note.

"We maintain the view of further declines, and the VN-Index may break its next support level of 372 points," he added.

The southern bourse's total trading volume fell by 11.5 per cent compared to the previous week, while in Ha Noi, trading volume through order matching decreased 29.3 per cent.

Excluding trading via negotiation methods, the market marked 10 consecutive sessions in which the total value on both exchanges was below VND400 billion (US$19 million). Notably, three sessions - on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday - saw the figure value plummet below VND200 billion ($9.5 million).

As the VN-Index broke its support level at 380 points, investor psychology took a turn for the worse.

This support level for the index was expected to serve as a good boost, said analysts for the financial information website vietstock.vn. "However, it could not show effectiveness due to the lack of positive information," they added.

The domestic economy still showed few signs of improvement. Total sales of retail goods and consumer services last month rose only 11 per cent over the same period in 2011 – the lowest increase since early this year.

In addition, the Ha Noi Tax Department announced that nearly 11,400 local businesses had dissolved as of November, while the number of newly established enterprises also dropped.

The trading highlight last week was the activity on November 28 when negotiations focused on Sai Gon – Ha Noi Bank (SHB) and Sacomreal (SCR) shares.

Foreign investors concluded last week as buyers in HCM City, spending a net value of VND1.2 trillion ($57.1 million). On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, they were sellers by a slight margin of VND11.2 billion ($500,000).

Meanwhile, the Vietnamese stock market still managed to remain among the top 25 growing markets, according to investment data firm Morningstar's figures as of November 14. In Asia, the growth of Viet Nam's stock market was stronger than that of South Korea, Indonesia and Taiwan.

There was scant consolation as the Government inflation this year is expected to be 7.5 per cent, below the initial prediction of eight per cent. This information is expected to provide a boost to the stock market as the year draws to a close.

VietNamNet/VNS