A Vincom Plaza shopping and entertainment complex run by Vincom Retail in the southern city of Cần Thơ. The company’s shares fell 1.7 per cent on Wednesday. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — The Vietnamese stock market settled lower on Wednesday, ending its two-day gaining streak due to the slump of heavy-weight stocks.

The VN-Index on the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) lost 1.02 per cent, to close at 1,023.19 points. The index had gained 0.63 per cent in the last two sessions.

More stocks moved to the downside on the southern bourse, of which 164 ticker symbols inched higher, while 273 stocks finished lower.

Liquidity declined compared to the previous session, with more than 578.2 million shares traded on HoSE, worth nearly VNĐ10.74 trillion (US$402.3 million).

The benchmark index was pressured by losses in large-cap stocks, with the 30 biggest stocks tracker VN30-Index posting a decrease 1.24 per cent, to 1,025.18 points. Five stocks in the VN30 basket jumped, while 22 stocks slid. And three stocks ended flat.

The worst performers in the VN-30 basket were still pillar stocks in banking and manufacturing industries. In the top five stocks influencing the market, Masan (MSN) was the biggest loser with a 6.4 per cent decrease. It was followed by Vincom Retail (VRE), Techcombank (TCB) and Vietcombank (VCB), down 1.7-1.9 per cent.

Securities stocks decreased towards the end of the session. VN-Index's loss was significantly broadened as securities stocks declined strongly, such as VNDirect Securities Corporation (VND), Saigon-Hanoi Securities JSC (SHS), Việt Capital Incorporation (VCI), Agribank Securities Corporation (AGR) and APG Securities Joint Stock Company (APG).

Energy stocks also performed negatively with losers such as Việt Nam National Petroleum Group (PLX), PetroVietnam Technical Services Corporation (PVS), PetroVietnam Drilling and Well Services Corporation (PVD) and Drilling Mud Joint Stock Corporation (PVC).

On a sector basis, 14 out of 25 sector indices on the stock market lost ground, including insurance, retail, banking, wholesale, construction, rubber production, logistics, real estate, and securities.

On the Hà Nội Stock Exchange (HNX), the HNX-Index also finished lower. It lost 0.33 per cent, to 211.66 points.

During the session, VNĐ706 billion worth of shares, equivalent to a trading volume of nearly 47.3 million shares, was traded on the northern market. — VNS