HÀ NỘI – Việt Nam’s benchmark VN Index extended its loss for a second straight session on Tuesday as investors remained pessimistic over trading conditions.

The benchmark index on the HCM Stock Exchange dropped nearly 1 per cent to close at 761.26 points. It had inched down 0.02 per cent on Monday.

More than 154 million shares worth about VNĐ2.9 trillion (US$128.5 million) were traded on the southern bourse.

Trading liquidity continued to decline on a daily basis. Trading volume was down 9.2 per cent from the previous session and value fell 13 per cent.

Monday’s trading figures were also lower than those of last Friday.

Trading conditions were not good as declining stocks outnumbered gainers by 172 to 94 and 50 other stocks closed unchanged.

Large-cap stocks traded negative. Two-thirds of the 30 largest companies by market capitalisation suffered losses, pushing the VN30 Index down 0.73 per cent.

The worst decliners in the VN30 Index included brewer Sabeco (SAB), Bank for Investment and Development of Việt Nam (BID), Vietinbank (CTG), Vietcombank (VCB) and Bảo Việt Holdings (BVH).

Shares of brokerage firms also underperformed. The securities sector was driven down by HCM City Securities (HCM), Vietinbank Securities (CTS) and VNDirect Securities (VND).

VNDirect late Monday announced it would offer six of its 10 million shares for sale on August 28. The company’s shares plunged 7 per cent, hitting its daily trading losing limit.

Negative trading on the HCM Stock Exchange also spread to the HNX Index, causing the latter to lose steam.

The HNX Index declined by 0.26 per cent to finish Tuesday at 100.87 points, reversing from an intraday growth of 0.4 per cent. It also ended a two-day increase of 0.6 per cent.

Trading liquidity on the northern market also declined, with 43.9 million shares worth VNĐ498 billion being traded

The VN Index finished below the supporting level of 762 points, suggesting that the market would not trade positive in coming sessions, Bảo Việt Securities (BVSC) said in its report.

Trading liquidity remained below the average level of the previous 21 sessions, with declining stocks outnumbering gainers and investors trying to sell rather than buy.

BVSC analysts said investor confidence was low, which would increase selling pressure and push the market down further.

Given the current market trading conditions, the VN Index could fall deeper on Wednesday and test the supportive range of 754 and 760 points, Sài Gòn-Hà Nội Securities (SHS) said.

It struck an optimistic note at the end: “If the bottom-picking is strong enough when the VN Index reaches that range, the benchmark will recover and head to the peak of 768 and 771 points.” – VNS