Shares extended their losses on Wednesday morning, led by slump of oil and gas stocks.

The benchmark VN-Index on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange edged down 0.54 per cent at 987.13 points.

On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index inched down 0.34 per cent at 107.88 points.

Both stock indices also decreased on Tuesday.

Market breadth was negative as the number of declining stocks outnumbered the gaining ones by 231 to 174 in the two markets. Another 354 were unchanged.

Most of the sectors slumped, with the oil and gas industry the hardest hit.

Major companies including PV Gas (GAS), PetroVietnam Drilling and Wells Service (PVD), PetroVietnam Technical Services (PVS) and PetroVietnam Drilling Mud (PVD) lost between 0.8 per cent and 1.9 per cent.

Bank shares also lost momentum. 10 of 13 listed banks declined, of which Vietcombank (VCB) was the biggest loser, down 1.1 per cent. Other banks such as Vietinbank (CTG), Military Bank (MBB), Techcombank (TCB) and VPBank (VPB) decreased less than 1 per cent.

On the other end of spectrum, realty stocks gained. Big gainers included HCM Infrastructure Investment (CII), Kinh Bac City Development (KBC), FLC Group (FLC) and Hoa Binh Construction Group (HBC).

They were also among the top 10 most active shares this morning.

The afternoon trading session starts at 1pm. – VNS