Shares fell further in the local markets on Tuesday morning, driven by financial-banking and energy stocks as investor confidence remained low. — Photo cafef.vn

Shares fell further in the local markets on Tuesday morning, driven by financial-banking and energy stocks as investor confidence remained low.

The benchmark VN Index on the HCM Stock Exchange fell 0.4 per cent to close at 708.3 points. Viet Nam’s key index has dropped by a total of 2.8 per cent in the past four days.

The HNX Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange went down 0.5 per cent to end at 87.87 points. The northern market index has declined by 1.9 per cent in the previous two sessions.

Banks and financial firms continued to weigh down the market. Of the nine listed banks, only Vietcombank (VCB) advanced at the rate of 0.6 per cent.

Other financial stocks such as BIDV Insurance Corp (BIC), Viet Nam National Reinsurance Corp (VNR), MB Securities Corp (MBS) and VNDirect Securities Corp (VND) suffered.

Energy stocks also remained in negative territory as global crude prices showed little improvement owing to geopolitical tensions. PetroVietnam Drilling and Well Services (PVD) lost 0.5 per cent, PetroVietnam Mud Drilling (PVC) fell 1.3 per cent and PetroVietnam Technical Services (PVS) by 0.6 per cent.

Around 130.7 million shares worth VND2.74 trillion (US$122.1 million) were traded on Tuesday morning.

The afternoon session starts at 1pm. — VNS