Shares were mixed at closing on Friday morning, with the HCM City Exchange dipping but the northern Ha Noi bourse ending the morning session on a positive note.

The benchmark VN Index on the HCM Stock Exchange fell 0.73 per cent to close at 1,008.32 points. It lost 1.44 per cent on Thursday.

The HNX Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange inched up 0.35 per cent to close at 115.31 points. It had dropped 1.50 per cent the previous day.

Liquidity remained low with nearly 87 million shares worth VND1.8 trillion (US$79 million) being traded on the two local exchanges.

Declining stocks dominated the two indices, with losers outnumbering gainers 241 to 144, indicating a negative market breadth.

Key areas of the stock market, including the banking-financial, property development, construction material, and food and beverage sectors, continued to underperform.

Large-cap stocks were on the negative side as 19 of the 30 largest stocks by market capitalisation declined, pulling the VN30 Index down 0.80 per cent to 996.29 points.

Among the declining stocks were the Bank for Investment and Development of Viet Nam (BID), Vietcombank (VCB), Saigon Securities Inc (SSI), and budget carrier Vietjet (VJC), as well as real estate firm Novaland (NVL) and steel producer Hoa Phat (HPG).

ACB was the most prominent name in the morning session, gaining 1.48 per cent from VNĐ500 to VNĐ41,100 per share and contributing significantly to the growth of the HNX-Index.

The afternoon trading session starts at 1pm. – VNS