nvestors continued to shun the stock market, driving down shares on both national exchanges.

The benchmark VN-Index plunged further in the afternoon, finishing yesterday's session at 393.34 points, down 0.45 per cent from Wednesday's close.

The value of trades went up nearly 34 per cent from the previous session, totalling almost VND521.8 billion (US$24.8 million) on a volume of 28.6 million shares.

Blue chips slumped as only five of the top 30 shares by market capitalisation and liquidity gained value while 22 slid. The VN30, which measures the performance of the top 30 shares, was down 0.4 per cent to 458.38 points.

Telecommunication equipment producer SACOM (SAM) was the most active code yesterday, with 1.94 million shares changing hands, climbing 1.54 per cent to VND6,600 a share.

However among gainers, shares of software giant FPT Corp (FPT) jumped highest with a 2.7 per cent increase to VND38,000 ($1.81) a share, following the news on Wednesday that FPT chairman Truong Gia Binh had returned to his seat of FPT's general director after the resignation of CEO Truong Dinh Anh.

Truong Dinh Anh was appointed the corporation's CEO on March 2011 but resigned because of the differences in strategic planning and operating methods between him and other members in FPT's board of directors.

Anh, born in 1970, aims to bring FPT into the list of the top 500 of Forbes Global during 2020-24 and multiply the profit growth of the corporation by four in 2011-14. However, by the end of July, FPT's pre-tax profit reached nearly VND1.35 triillion ($64.3 million), meeting just 45 per cent of its yearly profit plan.

On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index edged near an all-time low, closing yesterday at 0.69 per cent with 55.90 points.

Trading value dropped another 8 per cent from the previous day, totalling VND137.4 billion ($6.5 million) on a volume of 19.6 million shares.

VNDirect Securities (VND) was still the most active code on trades of 3.75 million shares, edging down 3.26 per cent to VND8,900 a share.

The market lacked positive news while corporate earnings were forecast to be pessimistic given the economic slowdown. Many stock analysts believed the sideways movement was likely to march on given investors' declining confidence.