The benchmark VN Index on the HCM Stock Exchange fell on Friday morning, dragged down by profit-taking that focused on the agriculture sector. — Photo tinnhanhchungkhoan.vn

Vietnamese shares extended their losses on Friday morning as investors sought to take profits by selling stocks that had made significant gains in the previous days.

The benchmark VN Index on the HCM Stock Exchange fell 0.83 per cent to close at 955.47 points. It was down 0.29 per cent on Thursday.

The HNX Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange plunged 1.05 per cent to end at 106.67 points after gaining 0.12 per cent in the previous session.

More than 122.4 million shares were traded on the two bourses, worth VND2.33 trillion (US$103.7 million).

Local stocks were hit by profit-taking pressure after they had made significant gains in the previous sessions.

The agriculture sector was the worst-performing industry among 20 sectors on the stock market as its index plummeted 4.8 per cent, data on vietstock.vn showed.

The two largest agricultural firms – Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAG) and HAGL Agrico (HNG) – lost 3.8 per cent and 6.8 per cent, respectively.

HAG had risen substantially by 8.9 per cent in the previous two sessions. Their shares have picked up almost 52 per cent since July 11.

Property developers also ended in the negative territory, including Vingroup (VIC), Vinhomes (VHM), Vincom Retail (VRE) and Dat Xanh Group (DXG).

On the opposite side, insurance, brokerage and energy stocks were among those that supported the market’s uptrend.

The afternoon trading session starts at 1pm. — VNS