Vietnamese shares inched lower after a two-day rise as investors eyed ongoing volatility in global markets.
On the HCM Stock Exchange, the VN-Index edged down 0.05 percent to close the September 10 session at 572.07 points. It gained a 3 percent in the previous two sessions.
In the Hanoi's market, the HNX-Index also dropped 0.48 percent to end the session at 77.79 points.
The overall market condition was negative as just 24 percent of 678 trading stocks advanced while 33 percent declined. The rest closed unchanged.
Liquidity continued to fall on the two exchanges.
In HCM City, more than 70 million shares worth almost 1.17 trillion VND (52 million USD) were traded by the end of the session, down around 23 percent in both volume and value from previous day’s levels. These figures were almost 50 percent lower compared with the three-month average of 135 million shares and 2.3 trillion VND (102.2 million USD).
The trading volume was also much lower in the Hanoi's market, totaling just 28.6 million shares worth 329 billion VND (14.6 million USD), down 18 percent in volume and 21 percent in value from previous day’s figures.
Heavyweight stocks were mixed along with weakening investors' confidence in the market outlook.
Banks and energy stocks, which provided the market's upward momentum in the previous rally, lost their shine and declined on September 10.
Only Vietcombank (VCB), the largest listed lender with a market capitalisation of 122.6 trillion VND (5.4 billion USD), posted a gain of 0.4 percent. Four of nine banks tumbled and four closed unchanged.
Large-cap oil and gas companies like PV Gas (GAS) and PetroVietnam Drilling and Wells Service (PVD) also fell after two-day rises.
Some large companies bucked the trend and posted gains, such a dairy giant Vinamilk (VNM), real estate VinGroup (VIC), software producer FPT Corp (FPT), insurer Bao Viet Holdings (BVH) and Saigon Securities Inc (SSI) but their growth was modest at less than 1 percent.
SSI was also the leading stocks by volume nationwide with over 4 million shares traded, rising 1.6 percent to close at 25,400 VND (1.13 USD) each.-VNA