Brokers at VPBank Securities Company. — Photo tinnhanhchungkhoan.vn
Shares fell on Tuesday morning after strong profit-taking by investors pulled down large-cap stocks.
The benchmark VN Index on the HCM Stock Exchange dropped 0.31 per cent to close at 770.14 points. It had gained a total 0.8 per cent in the previous two sessions.
The HNX Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange lost 0.54 per cent to end at 98.20 points, reversing from a gain of 0.5 per cent on Monday.
Around 141.4 million shares were traded in both local markets, worth VND2.4 trillion (US$106.8 million).
Analysts attributed the fall of the markets in the first half to the decline of large-cap stocks. Two-thirds of the shares on the VN30 Index, which tracks the performance of the 30 largest companies by market capitalisation, dropped below the preference price levels.
Among these are fuel station operator Petrolimex (PLX), which slumped 3.2 per cent after having rallied 15 per cent over the previous six trading days.
Other large-cap stocks that slipped include commercial lender BIDV (BID), property developer Vingroup (VIC), PetroVietnam Drilling and Well Services (PVD), and food producer Kido (KDC).
The afternoon session starts at 1pm. — VNS