Shares fell on Monday morning, as selling-forces weighed on market sentiment.

On the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), the VN-Index inched down 13.94 points, or 0.93 per cent, to 1,484.56 points.

The market's breadth was negative as 325 stocks declined, while only 125 increased.

Liquidity, however, was higher compared to the previous session. Of which, nearly VND17.6 trillion (US$769.2 million) worth of stocks, equivalent to a trading volume of over 583.4 million shares, was traded on the southern bourse.

Foreign investors returned to the market and net bought a value of VND51 billion on the HoSE.

The VN30-Index, tracking the 30 biggest stocks on the market, dropped 10.45 points, or 0.7 per cent, to 1,487.91 points.

On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange (HNX), the HNX-Index posted a fall of 3.11 points, or 0.67 per cent, to 458.64 points.

The market's downtrend was due to a strong sell-off in most sectors, especially banking, securities, manufacturing, real estate and logistics.

Of the top five stocks influencing the market trend, BIDV (BID) lost the most, down 3.45 per cent. It was followed by Vinhomes (VHM), Masan Group (MSN), Development Investment Construction JSC (DIG) and Vinamilk (VNM), all down in a range of 1.3-5.7 per cent. VNS