Shares continued to decline on both stock exchanges yesterday, albeit at a slower pace.

While there had been no bad news, increasing pessimism still weighed heavily, making the market trend "unstable and unpredictable", analysts of FPT Securities Co wrote in a report.
On the HCM City Stock Exchange, the VN-Index lost another 0.58 per cent to end yesterday's session at 386.62 points.

Trading was sluggish with almost 35.8 million shares were exchanged, worth VND454 billion (US$21.6 million), down 44 per cent in value compared to the previous session.

Losers outnumbered gainers by 140-78 but a recovery by several blue chips helped cushion the fall.

Vietinbank (CTG), Phu My Fertiliser (DPM), property developer VinGroup (VIC), dairy giant Vinamilk (VNM) and Military Bank (MBB) gained 0.7-2.1 per cent.

However, PetroVietnam Finance (PVF) plunged to its floor price and insurer Bao Viet Holdings (BVH), real estate Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAG), steelmaker Hoa Phat Group (HPG) and food processor Masan Group (MSN) fell 2.9-4.6 per cent.

The VN30, tracking the top 30 shares on the southern bourse, was still down 0.48 per cent overall to 453.39 points

Construction company Licogi 16 (LCG) surprised the market by becoming the most active share yesterday with more than 2 million shares traded, closing flat at VND7,200 a share.
On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index closed at 57.52 points, off 0.95 per cent from Monday's session.

Trading value also decreased 42 per cent, totalling almost VND156 billion ($7.4 million) on a volume of 22.3 million shares.

Decliners overwhelmed advancers by 120-75 while up to 198 shares closed unchanged.
VNDirect Securities Co (VND) was still the most active code with almost 2.4 million shares changing hands, closing flat at VND9,200 a share.

Le Xuan Nghia, vice chairman of the National Finance Supervisory Committee, said Viet Nam's stock market was unlikely to recover by the end of this year due to declines in overseas remittances and foreign direct and indirect investments and sluggish overall economic development.