Local investors follow shares movement at the Tan Viet Securities Stock Exchange in Hanoi. — VNS Photo Doan Tung

HA NOI (Biz Hub) – Shares continued to fall this morning on the two exchanges following a slump in large-cap stocks.

The benchmark VN-Index on the HCM Stock Exchange was down 0.5 per cent to 656.8 points, while the HNX-Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange inched down 0.1 per cent to 83.6 points.

Of a total of 690 stocks, 211 declined and 149 advanced.

Only two of the 10 largest stocks by market value gained value while eight tumbled.

Vietcombank (VCB), the second-largest listed lender, was the biggest loser with a decline of 1.7 per cent. Others including dairy firm Vinamilk (VNM), private equity Masan Group (MSN), Vietinbank (CTG) and insurer Bao Viet Holdings (BVH) slipped by less than 1 per cent.

Only steelmaker Hoa Phat Group (HPG) increased 1.5 per cent and PV Gas (GAS) was up 0.7 per cent.

Money was poured into speculative stocks with cheap value, such as furniture maker Duc Long Gia Lai Group (DLG) and real estate developer FLC Group (FLC). These two companies claimed the most active position with nearly three million shares traded on each code.

DLG was down 5.3 per cent while FLC rose 0.8 per cent.

A total of 62 million shares worth VND1.44 trillion (US$65 million) were exchanged on the two exchanges by the end of the morning, only half of yesterday's levels.

The afternoon session starts at 1pm. – VNS