Shares on both national stock exchanges declined this morning following a short rise on Friday.

On the HCM City Stock Exchange, the VN-Index finished this morning at 388.55 points, down 2.25 per cent from Friday's close.

However, trading improved over the previous session, with almost 34.5 million shares, worth VND518.7 billion (US$24.7 million), exchanged, exceeding the levels of the entire trading day on Friday.

Losers outnumbered gainers by 203-28, half of which plunged to the floor prices, including large-cap shares such as insurer Bao Viet Holdings (BVH), property developer Hoang Anh Gia Lai Co (HAG), steelmaker Hoa Phat Group (HPG), Ocean Group (OGC), PetroVietnam Finance (PVF).

The VN30, tracking the top 30 shares by market capitalisation and liquidity, was also down 2.33 per cent to 455.10 points.

Telecommunication equipment provider SACOM Investment and Development (SAM) was the most active share this morning with total trades of 1.5 million shares, closing off 4.1 per cent at VND7,000 a share.

On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index lost 3.16 per cent to end at 58.48 points on a total turnover of more than VND165 billion ($7.9 million).

Decliners also overwhelmed advancers by 177-23, led by blue chips, shown in a decrease of 3.82 per cent of the HNX30, which tracks the performance of the top 30 shares on the northern bourse.

VNDirect Securities Co (VND) was the most active code with almost 2.8 million shares changing hands, plunging 4.1 per cent to VND9,300 a share.

Trading will resume at 1pm.