Declining stocks dominated the two bourses, outnumbering gainers by 290 to 121, which proved that investor confidence was quite low in the morning session. — Photo vietnamfinance.vn

The benchmark VN Index on HCM Stock Exchange dropped 0.24 per cent to close at 1,201.49 points. It had gained 0.36 per cent on Monday.

The HNX Index on Ha Noi Stock Exchange fell 0.69 per cent to end at 136.84 points, extending its downtrend from the previous 0.2 per cent decline.

More than 197 million shares, worth VND5.67 trillion (US$252 million), were traded on the two local exchanges.

Declining stocks dominated the two bourses, outnumbering gainers by 290 to 121, which proved that investor confidence was quite low in the morning session.

Large-cap stocks underperformed as the VN30 Index lost 0.48 per cent to reach 1,172.01 points, with 17 declining stocks against nine gainers among the 30 largest stocks by market capitalisation.

Across the stock market, securities, rubber production, agriculture, construction and food and beverages sectors were the worst-performing industries.

Their indices declined between 0.8 per cent and 2.3 per cent, according to data of vietstock.vn.

Meanwhile, insurance-finance companies and banks drove the indices against the poor performance of other sectors.

The afternoon trading session starts at 1pm. – VNS