Vietnam Equity Movers: Dai Thien Loc, Minh Phu Seafood

The VN Index (VNINDEX), the benchmark measure of the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange, declined 0.7 percent to 397.41.

Securities stocks: Agribank Securities Joint-Stock Co. (AGR) , a unit of Vietnam’s biggest bank by assets, lost 3.8 percent to 5,100 dong. Sacombank Securities Joint-Stock Co. (SBS) , fell 3 percent to 3,200 dong, the biggest loss since Jan. 9. Ho Chi Minh City Securities Corp. (HCM) , dropped 2.1 percent to 14,200 dong.

Vietnam’s central bank will not ease restrictions on lending for stock investment, which is classified as one of the “discouraged sectors” for bank loans this year, the State Bank’s Deputy Governor Nguyen Dong Tien said yesterday.

The statement “has stamped out investors’ hope that the government may do something to boost the stock market,” said Ho Chi Minh City-based Ngo Huu Hung, deputy chief executive at Dai A Financial Investment Co. “It will worsen corporate earnings at securities companies,” he said.

Dai Thien Loc Corp. (DTL) , a steel producer, slid 2.5 percent to 15,500 dong. The company posted a 1.8 billion-dong ($85,600) loss in the fourth quarter, according to a statement on the exchange’s website.

Minh Phu Seafood Joint-Stock Co. (MPC) , Vietnam’s second-biggest listed seafood company, declined 2.3 percent to 16,900 dong, the lowest close since Jan. 6. The company’s fourth-quarter net income dropped to 556.6 million dong, from 20.3 billion dong a year earlier, according to company figures posted on the exchange’s website.