Shares fell Thursday morning as selling pressure on pillar stocks weighed on the market.
The VN-Index on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) edged down 0.23 per cent to 1,385.29 points. However, the market's breadth was positive with 172 stocks climbing, while 167 stocks declined.
The liquidity was lower than yesterday as nearly VND10.7 trillion (US$462.8 million) was poured into the southern market, equivalent to a trading volume of 298.6 million shares.
The index's reversal was mainly due to losses in some pillar stocks. The VN30-Index, tracking 30 biggest stocks on HoSE, plunged 0.21 per cent to 1,535.48 points. Of the VN30 basket, 14 stocks rose, while 14 stocks slid and two stocks stayed unchanged.
Real estate stocks led the fall this morning with No Va Land Investment Group Corporation (Novaland, NVL) posting the biggest losses of 6.78 per cent, followed by Vingroup JSC (VIC) with a drop of 2.11 per cent.
Other stocks losing big in the morning session were Vietcombank (VCB), Vincom Retail JSC (VRE), Vinhomes JSC (VHM) and Hoa Phat Group (HPG).
Meanwhile, gains in some large-cap stocks limited the fall. Masan Group (MSN) was the biggest gainer on Thursday morning, up 3.28 per cent. It was followed by Mobile World Investment Corporation (MWG) and PetroVietnam Gas JSC (PVGas, GAS).
On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange (HNX), the HNX-Index inched down 0.51 per cent to 318.19 points despite gains in the 30 biggest stocks tracker HNX30-Index, which climbed 0.16 per cent to 498.96 points. VNS