The logo of FLC Faros Construction (HoSE: ROS). The company shares dived 7 per cent on Monday. — Photo vietnambiz.vn

HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese shares edged down on Monday as investors remained cautious despite positive movements in regional markets.

The benchmark VN-Index on the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange fell 0.29 per cent to close at 934.77 points.

The VN-Index dropped 0.35 per cent last week.

More than 183 million shares were traded on the southern bourse for nearly VNĐ3.40 trillion (US$146.3 million).

That included more than 149 million shares exchanged via order-matching transactions, worth VNĐ2.5 trillion.

Liquidity fell from Friday and was below the 20-day average, proving investors were standing back and monitoring the market, Sài Gòn-Hà Nội Securities (SHS) said in its daily report.

Real estate, insurance, securities, construction and seafood processing stocks weighed on the market.

The construction sector was dragged down by FLC Faros (ROS), which plunged 7 per cent on speculations that its shares would be removed from the portfolios of foreign exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the upcoming quarterly review.

Real estate stocks also fell as market regulators and government agencies looked at a new policy to raise the standard of corporate bonds.

Seafood companies’ shares also dipped as latest full-year reports showed leading firms had recorded lower profits in 2019.

Textile and garment stocks were hit hard after some securities firms forecast the industry would not benefit from the Europe-Viet Nam trade pact (EVTA) until the end of 2020.

The three sector indices dropped between 1.3 per cent and 1.8 per cent, according to vietstock.vn. They were also among the worst-performing industries on Monday.

On the opposite side, banks, retailers, food and beverage businesses, and pharmaceutical companies helped cushion the market.

Bank stocks boosted the index by 0.8 per cent on expectations local banks would be acquired by European investors following the ratification of the EVFTA.

Poor market sentiment among local stocks surprised analysts because regional markets, especially Chinese stocks, advanced on hopes of stimulus packages, according to VNDirect Securities Corp.

The market was losing gaining momentum as large-cap shares were weakening, the company said in a note. “The VN-Index would continue its slow recovery, which has been ongoing since the beginning of February.”

On the Hà Nội Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index slid 0.16 per cent to end at 109.57 points after having soaring 4.60 per cent the previous week.

More than 33 million shares were traded on the northern market for VNĐ366.3 billion. — VNS