Shares extended losses on Friday morning as a strong foreign selling continued to push large-cap stocks down. - Photo thesaigontimes.vn

Shares extended losses on Friday morning as blue chips continued to suffer from foreign selling, and energy stocks dropped on lower oil prices.

The benchmark VN Index on the HCM Stock Exchange lost 0.5 per cent to close at 675.01 points, while the HNX Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange edged down 0.2 per cent to end at 81.03 points.

Foreign selling of large-cap stocks continued to put pressure as the exchange rate between the Vietnamese dong and the US dollar, set by the State Bank of Viet Nam and commercial banks, has peaked since January on expectations that the US central bank may increase lending rates in December.

The central bank on Friday set the reference mid-point exchange rate at VND22,137 for a dollar with an allowable trading margin at +/-3 per cent on either side of the reference rate.

Some analysts believe the higher dong-dollar exchange rate will allow foreign investors to profit from their investment and that foreign selling in large-cap stocks may push the market down. On Thursday, foreign investors made a net sale value of VND220 billion; their total net sale value this week has been VND520 billion.

Dairy firm Vinamilk (VNM) was among those hit by foreign selling, with its shares dropping 1.5 per cent on Friday morning. VNM had fallen 2.8 per cent in the past two days.

Energy stocks were also in the negative as oil prices declined in global markets owing to investors’ pessimism on the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ (OPEC) arriving at an output cut deal next week.

More than 91.5 million shares, worth VND1.6 trillion (US$71.5 million), were traded on Friday morning. – VNS