Shares decline on Monday's morning. — VNS Photo

HA NOI (Biz Hub) – Shares declined in the Monday morning trade on both exchanges, driven by the slump in large-cap stocks as investors stayed cautious after the VN-Index failed to surpass the short-term peak.

The VN-Index on the HCM Stock Exchange was down 0.5 per cent to 678.9 points. It had gained 1.3 per cent in the last two trades.

On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index fell for the first time in three days, down 0.8 per cent to 82.4 points. It had risen nearly 1 per cent in the last two sessions.

Blue chips led the downturn with up to 20 of the top 30 shares by market capitalisation losing value and only six going up.

Losers included some of the highest valued companies such as dairy giant Vinamilk (VNM), lenders Vietcombank (VCB) and BIDV (BID), insurer Bao Viet Holdings (BVH) and PV Gas (GAS).

Overall, the market condition was negative, with 246 of total 693 stocks slipping down and only 145 going up.

Liquidity was modest with over 94 million shares worth nearly VND1.3 trillion (US$58.3 million) being traded in the two markets. The afternoon trade starts at 1pm. – VNS