Investors continued to opt out of the market yesterday, watching stocks fall on both national stock exchanges.
The benchmark VN-Index on the HCM City Stock Exchange lost another 0.47 per cent to close the session at 412.55 points, led by blue chips.
The VN30 Index tracking the top 30 shares by market capitalisation and liquidity was also down 0.45 per cent to 489.76 points.
Decliners outnumbered advancers by 142-72 overall.
Trading was still sluggish with just 27.6 million shares, worth VND426.3 billion (US$11.2 million), exchanged.
Only four codes exceeded more than 1 million shares traded, of which Tan Tao Industry Investment Corp (ITA), with over 1.7 million shares traded, was the most active, but closed flat at VND6,700 ($0.32)
"Investors maintain a pessimistic outlook on the market," said HCM City-based independent analyst Pham Viet Hung, noting more and more companies were reporting poor corporate earnings and disappointing investors.
By the end of July, 65 companies had posted losses in the second quarter, led by businesses operating in the fields of construction and real estate (19 firms), and securities and mining (7 firms).
On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, attractive prices helped to lift trading volume. Over 31.6 million shares worth more than VND481.6 billion ($22.9 million) changed hands yesterday, doubling Tuesday's trading value.
However, the benchmark HNX-Index still fell another 0.71 per cent to finish yesterday at 68.70 points, with losers overwhelming gainers by 127-73.
The HNX30 Index also dropped 1.19 per cent to close at 129.35 points.
VNDirect Securities (VND) was the most active code on the Ha Noi market with more than 4 million shares changing hands, but still fell 1.8 per cent to finish at VND10,700 ($0.52).
Foreign investors concluded yesterday as net sellers on both exchanges, unloading combined shares worth VND11 billion ($524,000)