Local stocks plunged and gold prices were up on Wednesday morning as tension between the US and North Korea rose the previous day. — Photo tinnhanhchungkhoan.vn

Shares plummeted and gold moved up on Wednesday morning as tension between the United States and North Korea escalated.

The benchmark VN Index on the HCM Stock Exchange narrowed its loss, plunging 1.32 per cent to close at 781.15 points.

The HNX Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange declined 1.14 per cent to end at 101.11 points.

The two indices inched down 0.2 per cent and 0.1 per cent, respectively, on Tuesday.

More than 284.7 million shares were traded on both local bourses, worth VND3.72 trillion (US$165.4 million).

Investor confidence tumbled following increasing tension on the Korean peninsula after the United States and the North Korea on Tuesday threatened to attack each other.

Investor attention moved away from stocks to other assets, including gold.

Vietnamese gold prices early Wednesday morning increased by VND10,000 to VND30,000 per tael for both selling and buying orders compared with Tuesday.

Meanwhile, international gold prices were up 0.4 per cent to trade at $1,265.18 per ounce.

Escalating tension between the United States and North Korea also hit oil prices. Brent crude was down 0.4 per cent to trade at $51.92 per barrel.

Eighteen of the 20 sectors on the stock market were dampened by poor investor confidence, with the financial-banking, energy and real estate sectors being the worst decliners.

The afternoon session starts at 1pm. — VNS