Shares tumbled on both the national stock exchanges on Thursday morning after an unexpected rebound last Friday, as investors feared a likely bull trap.

The benchmark VN Index on HCM Stock Exchange slipped by 0.49 per cent to close at 984,06 points, reversing from its gain of 0.31 per cent on Wednesday.

The HNX Index on Ha Noi Stock Exchange tumbled 0.73 per cent to end at 117,24 points. The index had risen by 1.19 per cent on Wednesday.

Some 77 million shares, worth VND2.2 trillion (US$95 million), were traded in the two local exchanges.

The market breadth was negative, with 242 declining stocks against 160 gaining stocks.

Banking-finance, securities, energy, retail, rubber products and construction material stocks recorded the lowest decline rates on Thursday morning, according to data of vietstock.vn.

The VN30 Index, which tracks the southern city’s 30 largest shares by capitalisation and liquidity, fell by 0.87 per cent to 960,15 points. There were only six gainers against 22 decliners in this basket.

Many large-caps suffered, including confectionary producer KIDO Group, steel maker Hoa Sen Group, Masan Group and Vietinbank.

The afternoon trading session starts at 1pm. — VNS