Investors watch the stock transaction at the Artex Securities Company floor in Ha Noi. — File Photo

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — Shares lost early gains to close lower yesterday on the HCM Stock Exchange as many blue chips turned around to decline towards the end of the session.

The benchmark VN-Index reversed the morning gain and edged down 0.4 per cent to 570.3 points. The Index also inched lower by 0.1 per cent on Wednesday.

Large-cap shares were the main drag as almost half of the top 30 shares by market value and liquidity declined while only nine advanced.

"Current valuations of many large-cap stocks seem to exceed estimation," analysts at FPT Securities Co wrote in a report on the company's website yesterday.

Trades on the top 30 shares, which totaled 34.5 million shares worth over VND764 billion (US$34 million), accounted for over 32 per cent of market volume and nearly 50 per cent of market value in the HCM City's market.

Accordin to analysts at Sai Gon-Ha Noi Securities Co said the market would likely continue to trade in a range of between 570 and 575 points.

Overall liquidity continued to drop with just 107 million shares worth VND1.6 trillion ($71.1 million) traded yesterday, down just 1 per cent in volume but 15 per cent in value compared with Wednesday's levels.

These figures were much lower than the average of nearly 135 million shares and VND2 trillion ($88.9 million) recorded during the June to August period.

Banks, insurers and oil and gas sectors, which provided momentum for the market in previous rallies, were sold heavily yesterday.

Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BID), Sacombank (STB) and insurer giant Bao Viet Holdings (BVH) decreased between 1 per cent and 2 per cent.

PetroVietnam Drilling and Wells Service (PVD) and PetroVietnam Gas (GAS) also slumped over 1 per cent following slides in global oil prices.

US crude oil benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fell 2.7 per cent on Wednesday overnight on an unexpectedly large buildup in US gasoline stocks that raised concerns about high autumn fuel supplies.

On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index extended the winning run to seven days in a row, adding another 0.2 per cent to finish the session at 78.6 points. It has risen 2.6 per cent in the past seven days.

The number of advancing stocks outnumbered that of losers by 101 to 70 while 197 closed unchanged.

The trading volume climbed 28.2 per cent over the previous session, totaling nearly 42 million shares, while the value of trades jumped 32 per cent to reach VND499.4 billion ($22.2 million). — VNS