Shares plunged again on both national stock exchanges following mounting pessimism from investors.

On the HCM Stock Exchange, the VN-Index lost another 1.48 per cent, decreasing to 380.48 points with total turnover of VND361.34 billion (US$17.2 million), down 22 per cent from yesterday morning.

Decliners overwhelmed advancers by 165-43, of which 81 codes dropped to the floor prices.
Blue chips again led the market downturn as insurer Bao Viet Holdings (BVH), Eximbank (EIB), PetroVietnam Finance (PVF) and property developer Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAG) all fell by the daily limit of 5 per cent.

The VN30, which tracks the top 30 shares, was also down 1.92 per cent to 447.54.
EIB was the most active code with over 1.5 million shares traded, closing at the floor price of VND16,100 ($0.77) a share.

On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index gave up 1.69 per cent to end this morning at 59.29 points with trading value reaching VND191.8 billion ($9.1 million), down 24 per cent from yesterday morning.

The HNX30 – representing the exchange's top shares – also dropped 0.94 per cent to 110.88 points, with VNDirect Securities (VND) the most active code with almost 3 million shares traded.

Finally, the VND rose 1.1 per cent to VND9,500 ($0.45) a share.
Trading will resume at 1pm.