Investor sentiment appears to be weak due to a lack of supportive information and the risk of volatility on world markets. — Photo ndh.vn

HA NOI — Vietnamese shares continued to decline on Thursday morning as weak market sentiment continued to weigh down the market.

The benchmark VN-Index on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange decreased 0.28 per cent to close at 974.28 points.

Nearly 77 million shares were traded on the southern exchange, worth VNĐ1.5 trillion (US$65.3 million).

The index inched down 0.05 per cent to close Wednesday at 971.54 points.

The HNX-Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange lost 0.01 per cent to end at 105.33 points.

Over 12.5 million shares were traded on the northern exchange, worth VNĐ127 billion.

Investor sentiment appears to be weak due to a lack of supportive information and the risk of volatility on world markets.

On Wednesday, the Dow Jones lost 221.36 points, or 0.87 per cent, down to 25,126.41 points, the lowest level since February 11. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite also hit bottom over the last three months, at 0.69 per cent and 0.79 per cent, respectively.

On the local market, many blue chips fell this morning, such as the brewery Sabeco (SAB), Vietnam National Petroleum Group (PLX), Vingroup (VIC), Masan Group (MSN), Kido Group (KDC) and Bao Viet Holdings (BVH).

Some oil and gas stocks such as PetroVietnam Drilling and Well Services Corporation (PVD), Drilling Mud Joint Stock Corporation (PVC) and PetroViet Nam Coating JSC (PVB) fell slightly.

On a sector basis, sectors that increased included oil and gas, banking, food and beverages, securities, real estate, insurance and construction.

On the negative side, agriculture, logistics and construction materials were among the sectors that reported losses.

The afternoon trading session starts at 1pm. — VNS