The market was mixed on Thursday morning, with momentum not strong enough to continue lifting investor sentiment.
The benchmark VN-Index on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) slipped by 6.25 points, or 0.46 per cent, to 1,347.52 points, reversing the recovery set in the last two sessions.
The market's breadth was still positive with more stocks increasing, while liquidity remained at low levels. Of which nearly 300 million stocks were traded on the southern market, worth over VND7.65 trillion (US$333.3 million).
The benchmark's reversal was due to losses of large-cap stocks as selling pressure was still lingering.
The VN30-Index, tracking the 30 biggest stocks on HoSE, posted a fall of 6.32 points, or 0.45 per cent, to 1,395.71 points.
In the VN30 basket, 24 stocks declined, while only six climbed.
Vietcombank (VCB) lost the most in the morning trade and led the bearish trend, down 1.6 per cent.
Other big stocks influencing the benchmark index were PV Gas (GAS), Vinhomes (VHM), Sabeco (SAB), BIDV (BID) and Vinamilk (VNM). These stocks inched down in a range of 1.34-2.7 per cent.
On the other hand, losses were capped by gains in same pillar stocks like Becamex (BCM), up 5.5 per cent, Hoa Phat Group (HPG), up nearly 1.3 per cent, and Techcombank (TCB), up 1.08 per cent.
Meanwhile, the HNX-Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange (HNX) rose by 1.8 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 358.89 points. VNS