HÀ NỘI — Shares ended down on Wednesday due to cautious market sentiment on the movement of regional and world markets.

The benchmark VN-Index on the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange finished down 0.11 per cent to end at 908.70 points.

The southern market index gained 0.87 per cent on Tuesday.

The HNX Index on the Hà Nội Stock Exchange dropped 0.58 per cent to close at 101.99 points.

More than 196 million shares were traded on the two exchanges, worth nearly VNĐ4.3 trillion (US$185 million).

The blue-chip VN30 Index lost 0.09 per cent to close at 864.29 points, weighed down by seven declining stocks in the VN30 basket.

The seven decliners included the largest stocks by market capitalisation such as dairy producer Vinamilk (VNM), Vietcombank (VCB), Vietinbank (CTG), budget carrier Vietjet (VJC) and property developer Novaland (NVL).

Fourteen of the 20 sector indices on the stock market declined while the other six increased.

Banking, securities, retail, logistics, food and beverage and construction materials stocks lost ground during the session.

Those indices were down by between 0.01 per cent and 1.3 per cent, data on vietstock.vn showed.

Foreign investors were cautious after British PM Theresa May lost her Brexit divorce deal.

The latest defeat could “lead to a disorderly exit from the EU or even to a reversal of the 2016 decision to leave,” Reuters reported.

Foreign investors were waiting for the impacts of the latest vote results on the European and US stock markets.

According to Sài Gòn-Hà Nội Securities JSC (SHS), with two weeks left till the Tết (Lunar New Year) holiday, domestic investors seemed unwilling to buy local stocks.

It forecast that on Thursday, the VN-Index may rally back to the 910-point level.

“Investors should limit purchasing in this period as there are still no signs of the return of cash flow,” SHS said in its daily report.

Foreign investors today bought nearly 6.2 million shares in mobile phone and accessory giant Mobile World Corporation (MWG) at the ceiling price of VNĐ91,600 per share.

The move made the foreign ownership cap of 49 per cent at MWG fully covered. The price that foreign investors bought MWG shares was about VNĐ6,000 higher than MWG’s average price on the stock exchange.

Oil and gas stocks also performed well, lessening the pressure weighed on the market, with PetroVietnam Drilling & Well Services Corporation (PVD), PetroVietnam Technical Services Corporation (PVS) and PetroVietnam Transportation Corporation (PVT) making gains.

The Unlisted Public Company Market Index (UPCoM) closed up 0.39 per cent to finish at 53.32 points. — VNS