The market breadth was negative with 192 stocks declining, 74 rising and 46 closing flat on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange. Photo vietnamfinance.vn

Shares extended losses on Wednesday morning amid rising selling pressure.

On the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, the VN-Index gave up seven points, or 0.7 per cent, to close the morning trade at 981.66 points.

The market breadth was negative with 192 stocks declining, 74 rising and 46 closing flat.

Nearly 92 million shares worth more than VND2 trillion (US$86 million) were traded in the southern market.

Large caps were the main drag when 24 of the top 30 shares by market value and liquidity lost value and only four advanced.

Banks were among the biggest losers. Ten of 13 listed lenders slumped. Big banks such as Vietinbank (CTG), Vietcombank (VCB) and BIDV (BID) decreased by less than 1 per cent, but smaller banks including Tien Phong Bank (TPB), Housing Development Bank (HDB) and Eximbank (EIB) declined between 1.7 per cent and 2.7 per cent.

Shares of Coteccons Construction (CTD) hit the floor price for a second day after the shareholders approved to veto the merger plan of Riccons. CTD was trading at around VND122,000 per share.

Vinamilk (VNM), Vincom Retail (VRE), PV Gas (GAS) and DHG Pharmaceutical (DHG) were supporting the market, but their growth was modest with less than 1 per cent.

On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index saw a smaller decrease of just 0.1 per cent, closing the morning session at 107.63 points. Nearly 19 million shares worth VND224 billion ($9.6 million) changed hands in the northern bourse.

The afternoon trading starts at 1pm. VNS