Customers make transaction at the Bao Viet Stock Exchange in Tran Hung Dao Street, Ha Noi. — VNS Photo Truong Vi

Viet Nam’s benchmark VN-Index again failed to beat the 990 point mark with liquidity remaining almost unchanged as market sentiment was overclouded by uncertainty over US-China trade talks.

The VN-Index on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange was down 0.05 per cent to close at 987.38 points. The southern market index slid 0.04 per cent on Wednesday.

The benchmark index gained 0.31 per cent during the day.

The VN-Index reversed as investors put trading on hold and waited for the outcome of the US-China trade talks in Washington, which will end on Friday (local time), MB Securities Co (MBS) said in its daily report.

The sectors that drove the market up in the morning such as technology, energy and pharmaceuticals either declined or slowed in the afternoon session.

Meanwhile, banks, securities firms, real estate companies and retailers lost steam and provided little support for the market.

“Bank stocks weakened but they were still the centre of attention as other groups of stocks were not strong enough to take the lead,” MBS said.

Large-cap stocks also turned to negative territory as the blue-chip VN30-Index lost 0.16 per cent at the end of the day.

Blue-chips that lost included Vingroup (VIC), steel firm Hoa Phat (HPG), Novaland (NLV), Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BID), and Vietinbank (CTG).

The market continued to struggle as demand was still limited, Sai Gon-Ha Noi Securities Co (SHS) said in its daily report.

Trading liquidity was modest and almost unchanged from Wednesday as investors were unwilling to purchase shares.

Nearly 183 million shares were traded on the southern bourse, worth VND4.23 trillion (US$182 million).

The figures slightly increased from Wednesday’s numbers of 182.5 million shares in volume and VND4.1 trillion in value.

It proved investors were still doubtful about the index’s short-term uptrend and they wanted clearer signals, MBS added.

Under current conditions, the VN-Index was still moving sideways between 980 and 1,000 points, SHS forecast.

It was forecast to continue being weighed down by caution during the US-China trade talks, SHS said.

On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index rose 0.51 per cent to close at 105.16 points.

The northern market index has gained 1.38 per cent in three straight days.

More than 26.8 million shares were traded on the northern market, worth VND379.2 billion. — VNS