The benchmark VN Index on the HCM Stock Exchange closed almost flat at 773.76 points Thursday morning after falling 2.2 per cent in the previous session. — Photo tinnnhanhchungkhoan.vn

Shares returned to positive trading on Thursday morning as investors went after stocks that were hit by the large-scale sell-off in the previous session.

The benchmark VN Index on the HCM Stock Exchange closed almost flat at 773.76 points. It tumbled more than 2.2 per cent on Wednesday and totaled a two-day loss of 2.4 per cent.

The HNX Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange inched up 0.21 per cent to end at 101.27 points. The northern market index lost 1.2 per cent in the previous two sessions.

Nearly 152 million shares were traded on the two local exchanges, worth VND2.24 trillion (nearly US$100 million).

The stock market on Wednesday witnessed its strongest decline in 20 months on rising tension between the United States and North Korea and false news about the arrest of a former bank executive.

This triggered a large-scale sell-off of local stocks as investors turned to less risky assets such as gold, bringing all 20 sectors of the stock market down and reducing market capitalisation by $2 billion.

According to FPT Securities Company, a significant quantity of stocks was left for sale at close on Wednesday, which would pull the market down in the coming sessions.

On Thursday morning, market condition recovered as investors scooped up stocks that were hit by the large-scale sell-off on Wednesday.

Firms that saw shares recover included energy, food and beverages, construction, plastic production and pharmaceuticals.

However, shares of banks, brokerages and property developers continued to trade in negative territory.

Large-cap lender BIDV (BID) narrowed its decline from 6.9 per cent on Wednesday to 2 per cent on Thursday morning.

The afternoon session starts at 1pm. — VNS