Viet Nam’s benchmark VN Index fell for a third straight session on Wednesday, following other Asian markets, as investor confidence hit the floor with worries over the trade tension between China and the US.

The VN Index on the HCM Stock Exchange lost 0.77 per cent to end at 968.44 points. It has dropped total 3 per cent since last Friday.

The HNX Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange was down 0.68 per cent to close at 110.47 points, totalling a three-day loss of 2.75 per cent.

More than 228.5 million shares were traded on the two local bourses, worth nearly VND5 trillion (US$221.4 million).

Foreign investors posted VND190.5 billion worth of net sell value on Wednesday. They were net buyers on Tuesday with a net purchase of VND6.6 billion.

Large-cap VN30 Index extended losses by losing 1.07 per cent to stand at 941.00 points at the end of the session with two-thirds of the 30 largest shares by market capitalisation falling.

Bad mood pulled 16 of the 20 sectors down, including insurance, energy, food and beverages, real estate and retail, data on vietstock.vn showed.

The food and beverage sector index was the worst-performing among 20 sectors, slumping 12.5 per cent as dairy producer Vinamilk (VNM) was down 2.6 per cent on strong foreign selling.

Foreign investors on Wednesday net-sold VND142.5 billion worth of Vinamilk shares, accounting for nearly 75 per cent of foreign net sell value recorded in the session.

The VN Index was not an exception on Wednesday as Asian stock markets ended lower on worries about the escalation of the China-US trade tension, Sai Gon-Ha Noi Securities JSC (SHS) said in its daily report.

On Thursday, the US government is likely to announce its new $200 billion tariff imposed on Chinese imports and that clearly dampened investor sentiment, SHS said.

In addition to the rising trade tension, the fact of the VN Index having failed to overcome the 1,000-point level was another factor to increase selling pressure, the brokerage said.

Therefore, the VN Index would turn to its consolidation stage after having fallen nearly 3 per cent from near 1,000 points if there is no big news that could have negative impacts on investors’ confidence, SHS added.

Bao Viet Securities JSC (BVSC) said that a majority of stocks had fallen to cheaper prices after three days of declining and “bottom-fishing money flows may turn more active in the next sessions.”

BVSC also shared the view that the market would experience some accumulation before rebounding. – VNS