Shares retreated this morning on both national stock exchanges. Trade was sluggish.

The composite VN-Index on the HCM Stock Exchange closed down 1.23 per cent to 410.35 points.

Trading value reached only 56.9 per cent of Friday's session, totalling VNĐ255.65 billion (US$12.1 million) on a volume of 18.75 million shares.

None of the 30 leading shares tracked by the VN30 managed to post gains. Notably, property developers Dic Corp (DIG) and Quốc Cường Gia Lai (QCG) bottomed out.

The VN30 lost nearly 1.2 per cent to 484.88 points.

Ninh Vân Bay Travel Real Estate Co (NVT) was the most heavily traded stock with about 1.4 million shares changing hands.

On the Hà Nội Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index tumbled 1.45 per cent, reaching just 68.66 points.

On its first day of operation, the HNX30 – tracking the northern bourse's 30 best stocks – fell 2.5 per cent to 128.75 points.

Losers overwhelmed gainers by 149-34.

The value of trades declined 37 per cent over last Friday morning's level to VNĐ115.8 billion ($5.5 million). Trading volume dropped 45 per cent to just 12.3 million shares.

The market will resume at 1 pm