HÀ NỘI — Shares fell on both local exchanges on Thursday, as investor confidence was weakened by negative global market trends and investors continued to seek short-term profits.

The benchmark VN Index on the HCM Stock Exchange closed at 726.99 points, slightly down from Wednesday’s level of 727.20 points.

The HNX Index on the Hà Nội Stock Exchange slid 0.48 per cent to end at 91.46 points, retreating from a four-day rally of 2.2 per cent.

More than 288.3 million shares were traded on the two local bourses, worth VNĐ5.82 trillion (US$258.6 million). Market trading liquidity increased in comparison with Wednesday’s figures.

Only six of the 20 industries in the stock market made gains, with the strongest growth seen in banks, brokerages and seafood producers.

Meanwhile, declining stocks outnumbered gainers on both local bourses by 307 to 170.

The three gaining industries were driven by Vietinbank (CTG), MBBank (MBB), Eximbank (EIB), HCM City Securities (HCM), Sài Gòn-Hà Nội Securities (SHS), seafood producers Hùng Vương Corporation (HVG) and Vĩnh Hoàn Corporation (VHC).

Meanwhile, declining sectors included energy, property development, agriculture, construction, food and beverage.

The energy sector was dragged down as oil prices declined during the Asian trading session. Brent crude fell 1.4 per cent to trade at $48.38 a barrel.

Shares of real estate firms, agriculture companies, food and beverage producers, and construction corporations were brought down as investors increased their selling in the day-end period to seek recently gained profits.

Among those stocks, FLC Group (FLC) dropped 2.3 per cent, FLC Faros Construction (ROS) slid 2.2 per cent, dairy producer Vinamilk (VNM) edged down 0.7 per cent, Hoàng Anh Gia Lai (HAG) and its agricultural arm HAGL Agrico (HNG) decreased by 1.8 per cent and 3.4 per cent, respectively.

Both local indices in the stock market failed to pick up on Thursday as they were put under heavy selling pressure by investors, who attempted to offload parts of investment portfolios to earn some profits, Sài Gòn-Hà Nội Securities (SHS) said in its report.

The brokerage also said that investor confidence was clearly dampened after global markets responded in a negative way to the latest developments of the Trump administration.

However, there have been no signs of technical correction for local stocks at the moment, so the VN Index is expected to recover today and head to the level of 730 points, SHS said. — VNS