Inside a factory of Jasan Textile and Dyeing Việt Nam Co Ltd in Hưng Yên Province's Phố Nối B Industrial Park. Worries about global recession dominated market sentiment on Tuesday, outweighing investor confidence that sectors such as the textile and garment industry will benefit from the latest EU-Việt Nam trade deals. - VNA/VNS Photo Danh Lam

HÀ NỘI – Vietnamese shares dropped on Tuesday as worries about the global economic slowdown and new trade tensions outweighed confidence in Việt Nam’s new trade deals.

The benchmark VN-Index on the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange shed 0.38 per cent to close at 961.98 points.

The VN-Index gained 1.65 per cent on Monday following the signing of trade deals between Việt Nam and the EU and after China and the US agreed last weekend to restart trade talks.

But market sentiment turned negative on Tuesday after US President Trump threatened to slap a US$4 billion tariff on EU-made products.

Across Asia, stocks fell as worries arose after a lower global Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) signalled the world economy was slowing down.

Investors in Việt Nam retreated to defensive territory and left trading liquidity weak, MB Securities Co (MBS) said in a note. “Investors seemed calm and traded more cautiously.”

Weak investor sentiment failed to lift the stock market despite the fact that selling pressure was not strong, MBS said.

More than 138 million shares were traded on the southern bourse, worth VNĐ3.46 trillion (US$148.6 million).

In the VN30 basket, which tracks the 30 largest companies by market value and trading liquidity and often sets the course of the VN-Index, 18 stocks declined while only 11 increased.

Stocks fell even in the sectors that are likely to be boosted by the trade agreements Việt Nam signed with the EU such as seafood processing, garments and textiles and property development.

Foreign investors net-sold nearly VNĐ28.8 billion worth of stocks on HoSE, putting more pressure on the market.

Tuesday's decline showed the recent increases of the VN-Index were not stable, MBS said.

However, it was normal for the market to decline after recording strong gains on Monday and last Friday, the stock brokerage added.

Short-term growth was still projected, Thành Công Securities Co (TCSC) said in its daily report. “There will be alternate ups and downs on the way to 970-980 points,” it said.

The focus should be put on groups of listed companies that are expected to deliver better quarterly earnings reports in the next few weeks such as banks, retailers, tech firms and textile and garment companies, TCSC added.

On the Hà Nội Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index lost 0.60 per cent yesterday to end at 103.46 points.

The northern market index was up 0.56 per cent on Monday.

More than 23.7 million shares were traded on the northern market, worth VNĐ305.3 billion. – VNS