A man runs in front of Bảo Việt Holdings headquarters in Hà Nội. Shares of the company dropped 2.9 per cent to VNĐ70,700 (US$3.03) a share. — VNS Photo Mai Hương

HÀ NỘI – Shares closed on a negative note on Monday after foreign investors extended their net selling streak, further damping investor sentiment.

The VN-Index on the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange inched down 0.46 per cent to end the session at 983.09 points.

On the Hà Nội Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index decreased 1.36 per cent to close at 103.73 points.

The benchmark VN-Index lost total 1.03 per cent last week while the minor HNX-Index gained total 0.37 per cent.

A total of nearly 209 million shares worth VNĐ5.55 trillion (US$238 million) were traded on the two markets.

Large caps were the main drag when 21 of the top 30 shares by market value and liquidity on the HCM City’s bourse lost value, only six gained and three closed flat.

Despite the securities companies’ forecasts of strong earnings in the third quarter (Q3), financial stocks were the biggest losers on Monday. Big names such as Vietcombank (VBC), Vietinbank (CTG), BIDV (BID), Techcombank (TCB), VPBank (VPB), Military Bank (MBB), Phú Nhuận Jewelry (PNJ), Bảo Việt Holdings (BVH) and SSI Securities (SSI) all fell.

BVH, VPB and SSI lost more than 2 per cent while the others dropped between 0.3 per cent and 1.9 per cent each.

Some bucked the trend such as Vinamilk (VNM), brewer Sabeco (SAB), PV Gas (GAS), sugar manufacturer Thành Thành Công-Biên Hòa JSC (SBT) and Sacombank (STB) but their growth was modest of less than 1 per cent and failed to rescue the market.

Foreign traders continued their sells. They were net sellers on the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange for VNĐ45.8 billion on Monday, down 83 per cent compared to the last session, but this was the 10th consecutive net selling session here with total value of VNĐ1.3 trillion ($55.8 million).

They were net buyers on the Hà Nội Stock Exchange for a small value of just VNĐ127 million.

“Foreign investors have not shown signs of stopping their net selling activities. If this net selling trend continues with high volume while the global market experiences negative movements, the market will face significant pressure in the short run,” said Trần Xuân Bách, a stock analyst at Bảo Việt Securities Co.

Key international event this week is the US-China trade talks, which will take place in Washington on Thursday and Friday.

In the daily report on Monday, Bách forecast the VN-Index would move around 978-982 points in the short term to accumulate a better price before sending clearer signals of future directions. Sectors with expected positive profit in Q3 included banks, retail sales, real estate, electricity and natural rubber.

According to MB Securities Co, a positive factor is that more money was channelling into the market which helped absorb the net selling amount from foreign investors. The average trading value increased from VNĐ2.3 trillion to VNĐ3.3 trillion in the last five weeks. — VNS