An overnight rise in US stocks failed to lift local shares yesterday, with the VN-Index closing off slightly to 510.37 points.
The value of trades on the HCM City Stock Exchange was essentially unchanged, totalling VND1.65 trillion (US$86.8 million) on a volume of 50.3 million shares, but Viet Nam Electricity Construction Company (VNE) surprised the market by claiming the position as most-active share with nearly 2.6 million traded.
Pressure to sell combined with weak demand to drive 53 per cent of codes to lose value, with real estate shares such as Tan Tao Investment & Industry (ITA), HCM City Infrastructure Investment (CII), Hoang Anh Gia Lai Company (HAG) and Ha Do Company (HDG) all hard hit.
The southern market yesterday welcomed a listing by steel sheet producer Dai Thien Loc Company (DTL). DTL closed its first day of trading up 11 per cent from its reference price to VND31,100 ($1.64) on a volume of 958,770 shares.
On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index lost over a per cent from its value to close Friday's trades at 161.68 points. Volume fell slightly to 29.6 million shares worth a combined VND935 billion ($49.2 million).
Losers outnumbered gainers by 187-69, with most blue chips declining, including construction giant Vinaconex (VCG), Kim Long Securities Company (KLS), Asia Commerical Bank (ACB) and PetroVietnam Construction (PVX). PVX continued as the most heavily-traded share with over 3.1 million traded.
"Investors are still not paying much attention to blue chips since penny stocks are getting all their attention," said Bao Viet Securities Company analyst Nguyen Duc Thi.
Analysts at Vincom Securities Company said many investors suffered heavy losses in the most recent market decline and had become watchful for another "bull trap".
Foreign investors broke an 11-session run as net buyers on the HCM City Stock Exchange yesterday, becoming net sellers by a net value of nearly VND54 billion ($2.8 million). They continued as net buyers on the Ha Noi market, but by a net of just VND6.6 billion ($347,368) worth of shares.