The Vincom Centre run by Vincom Retail (HoSE: VRE) in HCM City. The company's shares dropped 1.5 per cent on Tuesday. —  Photo vingroup.net

HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese shares fell for a third day as market sentiment was pulled down by the decline of the large-cap sector.

The benchmark VN-Index on the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange lost 0.44 per cent to end Tuesday at 846.43 points.

The benchmark has dropped total 1 per cent in three consecutive trading days since last Friday.

The large-cap VN30-Index slipped 0.58 per cent to 786.95 points and the VN30 futures maturing on August 20 (Thursday) edged down 0.57 per cent to 788 points.

Twenty-one of the 30 largest stocks by market capitalisation and trading liquidity in the VN30 basket declined while only five increased and four ended flat.

Brewer Sabeco (SAB), property firms Vingroup (VIC) and Vincom Retail (VRE), Vietinbank (CTG), dairy producer Vinamilk (VNM), consumer staples business Masan (MSN), and retailers Phú Nhuận Jewellery JSC (PNJ) and Mobile World Investment (MWG) were the worst large-cap performers.

The consumer staples, retail, and real estate were three of the worst-declining sectors on Tuesday, BIDV Securities Corporation (BSC) said in its daily report.

The three industries lost between 0.63 per cent and 1.03 per cent, BSC said.

“The market is struggling as investors are cautious when the VN-Index is moving up and down around the 860 point level,” Thành Công Securities Co (TCSC) said in a note.

The market sentiment was kept on edge following the sharp increase of coronavirus infection cases in Việt Nam in recent days, leading to the lockdown of some provinces and cities.

Foreign investors net-sold nearly VNĐ290 billion (US$12.6 million) worth of local shares on Tuesday, up 182.8 per cent from Monday’s figure.

The international stock markets moved up little on Tuesday, waiting for the meeting of the US Federal Reserve, which would give investors a clearer view of how the world’s largest economy is going to perform in months to come.

While large-cap stocks underperformed, capital flew into mid-cap and small-cap sectors to boost the two indices up 0.50 per cent and 0.41 per cent, respectively.

Cement and industrial real estate companies made gains after a report by the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) showed more than 1,400 Japanese companies are considering expansion in Việt Nam.

On the Hà Nội Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index slid 0.16 per cent to end Tuesday at 117.02 points.

The northern market index gained 0.84 per cent on Monday.

Nearly 296 million shares were traded on the two exchanges, worth nearly VNĐ5 trillion. — VNS