HÀ NỘI Viet Nam News -— Vietnamese shares declined on both local markets yesterday on low investor confidence as large-cap stocks turned into negative territory.

The benchmark VN Index on the HCM Stock Exchange dropped 0.3 per cent to close at 578.02 points, ending a six-day rally of 4.3 per cent.

The HNX Index on the Hà Nội Stock Exchange was down 0.4 per cent to finish at 80.23 points, extending losses for a second session.

“Both local markets declined as investor sentiment was affected from the decline of large-cap stocks, with 17 out of 30 largest stocks in the VN30 basket falling from their recent gains,” brokerage Bảo Việt Securities Corp (BVSC) wrote in its daily report.

Dairy company Vinamilk (VNM) and steel producer Hòa Phát Group (HPG) fell after they made big gains in the previous sessions.

VNM was able to stay flat in the first two trading days of the week, but it fell 0.7 per cent. The stock rose 6.7 per cent last week after the company announced it would remove seven businesses from its profile in order to allow foreign investors to own more shares in the capital.

HPG pulled back by 1.9 per cent from a three-day gain of 5.3 per cent, after the company benefited from the latest anti-dumping tax imposed by the Government on imported steel products.

HCM City Infrastructure Investment JSC (CII) dropped 2.3 per cent after it added 6.7 per cent during the previous four trading days, while shipping company Gemadept Corp (GMD) retreated 1.3 per cent from a three-day rally of 3.4 per cent.

Sugar producer Thành Thành Công Tây Ninh JSC (SBT) was down 0.6 per cent from a two-day advance of 4.7 per cent. SBT has surged 12.6 per cent in the previous 10 sessions.

Banks also affected the markets, including Vietcombank (VCB), Eximbank (EIB), the Bank for Investment and Development of Việt Nam (BID) and Asia Commercial Bank (ACB), BVSC said.

These stocks decreased by 0.5 per cent, 1 per cent, 2.5 per cent and 1.1 per cent, respectively.

Both local markets traded more than 192 million shares worth VNĐ2.92 trillion (US$129.7 million), a decrease of a quarter from Tuesday’s trading value. — VNS