Shares ended Monday morning on a negative note due to strong profit-taking weighing down on steel stocks.

The market benchmark VN-Index on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) decreased by 0.12 per cent to 1,264.83 points.

The market breadth was positive as 138 stocks rose while 265 stocks slid.

The liquidity was low with over 44.7 million shares traded on HoSE, worth more than VND13.5 trillion.

The VN30-Index, which tracks 30 biggest stocks in market capitalisation on the southern bourse, lost 0.27 per cent to 1,376.27 points.

As many as 9 stocks in the VN30 basket were up while 18 stocks declined and three stocks stayed flat.

Steel stocks performed poorly on selling pressure, including Hoa Phat Group (HPG), Hoa Sen Group (HSG), Nam Kim Group (NKG).

On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange (HNX), the HNX-Index climbed 1.06 per cent to 297.86 points. VNS