Brokers at work at MB Securities JSC in Hà Nội. — Photo tinnhanhchungkhoan.vn

Vietnamese shares ended Wednesday morning on a negative note, dragged down by energy and financial-banking companies.

The benchmark VN Index on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange inched down 0.19 per cent to close at 903.67 points.

The southern market index reversed its gains from as much as 0.57 per cent made earlier in the day.

It was down 1.39 per cent on Tuesday.

The HNX Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange fell 0.46 per cent to end at 102.00 points.

The northern market index lost 0.87 per cent in the previous session.

Petroleum stocks led the market downturn on Thursday morning as investors worried about the decline of crude prices.

Brent crude dropped 0.37 per cent to trade at US$65.23 a barrel on Thursday morning.

Among local energy stocks that suffered were PetroVietnam Gas (GAS), PetroVietnam Technical Services (PVS) and PetroVietnam Coating Corp (PVB), falling at least three per cent each.

Financial-banking stocks also lost ground and pushed the market down into negative territory.

HDBank (HDB), BIDV Insurance JSC (BIC), Bao Viet Holdings (BVH), Vietinbank Securities (CTS) and PetroVietnam Securities Inc (PSI) were the worst-performing financial stocks.

Nearly 87 million shares were traded on the two local exchanges, worth VND1.82 trillion (US$80.8 million).

The afternoon trading session starts at 1pm. — VNS