Shares slipped further yesterday on the HCM Stock Exchange, driven by steep declines of Vinamilk (VNM) and Sabeco (SAB), the two largest listed stocks.

The benchmark VN-Index, the measure of 320 stocks on the southern bourse, edged down 1.73 per cent to close at 662.66 points.

The gauge inched down 0.1 per cent on Monday.

Yesterday’s fall was mainly attributed to slumps of dairy firm Vinamilk and brewery giant Sabeco which dropped 3.3 per cent and 7 per cent, respectively.

VNM settled down to VND124,600 (US$5.49) a share while SAB closed at VND197,200 and remained the most expensive stock.

Vinamilk (VNM) is the largest stock while Sabeco (SAB) is the second.

“Drops of these two stocks accounted for two thirds of the VN-Index’s decrease and affected investor sentiment,” stock analysts at Vietnam Investment Securities Company (IVS) wrote in a note.

However, declining liquidity showed that sellers did not sell at any cost and the slump of the VN-Index was mainly driven by large-cap stocks.

Over 100 million shares worth VND2.1 trillion were traded on HCM City’s market, down nearly 20 per cent in volume compared to Monday’s level.

Blue chips were on the defensive as 22 of the top 30 largest shares by market capitalisation and liquidity lost value and only five advanced.

Foreign investors extended their net selling streak to five consecutive sessions on the HCM Stock Exchange, responsible for value of VND158 billion.

SAB remained the top shares being purchased most by foreign traders in terms of value, with VND32.6 billion, while the foreign sector continued to sell VNM shares for the biggest value of VND124.7 billion.

According to IVS analysts, SAB will likely continue to drop in the following session under heavy profit-taking selling and this would negatively affect the VN-Index. SAB had doubled its price in just 10 days of trading and started to experience downward correction on Monday.

“However, if share prices fall sharply, this may trigger bargain efforts again,” they said.

On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index tracking 375 stocks, decreased 0.22 per cent to end at 79.77 points. The index was up 0.3 per cent on Monday.

More than 35 million shares worth nearly VND320 billion were traded.

Foreign traders were net buyers on Ha Noi’s market but the net value remained tiny at just VND200 million. – VNS