Many large-cap shares lost value this morning, with Monday blues dragging down prices across the HCM City Stock Exchange.

The benchmark VN-Index dropped 0.4 per cent to 396.65 points, while the VN30, tracking the top 30 shares on the bourse, gave up 0.48 per cent to close on 468.99 points.

Trading was sluggish as just over 33 million shares, worth almost VND488 billion (US$23.2 million), changed hands.

Tan Tao Investment Industry (ITA) plunged to the floor price while Eximbank (EIB), property developers Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAG) and VinGroup (VIC), Sacombank (STB) and PetroVietnam Finance (PVF) fell from 0.6-2.6 per cent.

ITA was also the most active this morning with 1.7 million shares exchanged at VND4,500 a share.

On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index also fell 1.24 per cent to 54.06 points, on a turnover of VND103.3 billion ($4.9 million).

Market conditions were decidedly negative with 117 codes slumping (45 dropped to the floor), 30 rising and 249 closing flat.

PetroVietnam Construction (PVX) continued to dominate the northern market with 3 million shares changing hands, but the shares sank 4.3 per cent to stand at VND4,500 each.

Trading will resume at 1pm.