HÀ NỘI — Shares ended Thursday down as investors took stock of sudden slumps on global and Asian markets.

The VN-Index on the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange was down 0.24 per cent at 954.82 points. It also dropped 0.18 per cent to close at 957.14 points on Wednesday.

On the Hà Nội Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index inched down 0.60 per cent to 107.10 points. It had gained 0.33 per cent to close at 107.74 points on Wednesday.

US stock futures and Asian shares slumped on Thursday after Canadian authorities arrested a top executive of Chinese tech giant Huawei for extradition to the US, feeding fears of a fresh flare-up in tensions between the two superpowers.

The news came as Washington and Beijing are set to begin negotiations aimed at de-escalating their bruising trade war, which is adding to deepening worries over higher US interest rates and other risks to global growth.

Huawei is one of the world’s largest makers of smartphones and telecommunications network equipment.

According to Bảo Việt Securities (BVSC), the arrest would have adverse impacts on US-China trade talks. Despite optimism among investors about the talks with a sharp rise of the Dow Jones early this week, the arrest of Huawei’s vice chair has lowered their expectations.

Amid the flattening yield curve, the risk of Fed rate hikes and a global economic slowdown had resulted in a slump on major indices in Asia, BVSC said.

A total of 215.8 million shares worth VNĐ4.4 trillion (US$188 million) were traded on the two exchanges.

Declining stocks outnumbered gainers 255 to 179.

Blue chip stocks were hit badly. The large-cap VN30 Index ended the session down 0.30 per cent at 922.86 points. The market rose slightly at the beginning of the session, but the rally was not sustained.

The VN-Index started the morning session on a upward trend but fell in the afternoon due to increasing selling pressure.

Decliners included Petro Vietnam Gas JSC (GAS), steel maker Hòa Phát Group (HPG), construction company Vinaconex (VCG), Vietcombank (VCB) and dairy firm Vinamilk (VNM).

Although recent oil prices are still on a downtrend, oil and gas groups showed positive movements with Petro Vietnam Gas JSC (GAS), PetroVietnam Technical Services Corporation (PVS) and PetroVietnam Drilling & Well Services Corporation (PVD) all gaining.

Global oil prices lost nearly 5 per cent on Thursday, after OPEC agreed to oil output cut on the same day..

Brent crude futures fell $2.72 on the day to $58.84 a barrel by 10:43 GMT, having hit a session low of $58.36, while US futures were last down $2.32 at $50.57 a barrel. The two have lost 30 per cent in value this quarter alone.

Bùi Xuân Huy, general director of No Va Land Investment Group Corporation (NVL), has registered to buy 36.1 million shares in NVL, pushing prices up 1.04 per cent on Thursday.

Sài Gòn-Hà Nội Securities JSC (SHS) forecast that in the last trading session of the week, the VN-Index may continue to struggle and shake when approaching the 950-960 point range.

“We recommend that investors continue to limit purchases within this price range and should observe the market. They can increase buying when the VN-Index moves above 960 points,” SHS said in its daily report. — VNS