Shares sank for a second day on the two national stock exchanges, likely caused by declining liquidity that raised investor caution ahead of October economic data expected to be released next week.
The benchmark VN-Index, the measure of 312 stocks on the HCM Stock Exchange, was down 0.2 per cent and closed at 684.8 points. It was down 0.4 per cent on Thursday.
On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index's 379 stocks decreased 1 per cent to 84.2 points. The index also lost 0.5 per cent in the previous trade.
Overall market conditions were negative with 276 of the total 692 stocks declining while 154 advanced.
Large-cap stocks continued to perform negatively. Some 19 of the 30 largest stocks by market capitalisation slumped while only seven climbed.
A number of the highest valued stocks--like dairy firm Vinamilk (VNM), private equity Masan Group (MSN), property developer VinGroup (VIC), VietinBank (CTG), steelmaker Hoa Phat Group (HPG)--sank for most of the trading period as investor psychology proved rattled.
A large share volume of VinGroup continued to be traded through negotiation yesterday. Over 8.4 million VIC shares worth VNĐ361.7 billion (US$16.2 million) changed hands, lifting total negotiation value in the past four trades to nearly VND2.2 trillion.
VIC shares slipped for a second day, down 0.7 per cent yesterday. Its price lost 1.8 per cent in the last two sessions.
A total of 173.4 million shares worth nearly VND2.8 trillion traded in the two markets, up 2.3 per cent in volume but down 3.4 per cent in value compared to Thursday's levels.
"Third-quarter earnings reports had limited impacts on stock prices of companies," analysts at Artex Securities Co wrote in a report.
Stock prices of Vietcombank, PetroVietnam Southern Gas (PGS) and Coteccons Construction JSC (CTD) rose slightly in only one session or tread water even the companies posted impressive earnings.
Vietcombank, the second biggest listed lender, reported pre-tax profits of nearly VND2.1 trillion in the third quarter, up 36 per cent year-on-year. Ending September, the bank earned over VND6.3 trillion in pre-tax profits, also up 36 per cent over the same period of last year.
"If this continued to happen to large-cap stocks which are expected to report their earnings in next weeks, the market would likely lose rising momentum and could decline when the reporting season ended," analysts said.
Source VNS