Shares lost ground in last-minute trading yesterday on the HCM Stock Exchange, driven by a slump of large-cap stocks.

The VN-Index inched down 0.12 per cent to close at 674.33 points, after touching nearly 680 points in early morning trade and gaining 1.8 per cent last week.

On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index edged up 0.3 per cent to end at 79.94 points. It gained 0.1 per cent last week.

The overall market condition was positive, with 247 shares rising, 155 declining and 293 staying unchanged.

Liquidity waned as a total of 172 million shares worth VND2.75 trillion (US$121 million) were traded in the two markets, down 18.3 per cent in volume and 26.3 per cent in value compared to Friday.

Declines of several large-cap stocks weighed on the VN-Index.

Brewery giant Sabeco (SAB) declined for the first time since its debut on December 6. Its shares lost 5.8 per cent to settle at VND212,000 per share. SAB shares rose rapidly from a debut price of VND110,000 a share to VND225,000 last Friday. They slipped because of profit-taking selling, with the trading volume rising nearly 37 per cent over the last 10-day average to 168,200 shares.

Among losers, the biggest listed Vinamilk (VNM) decreased 0.8 per cent; private equity Masan Group (MSN) fell 2.3 per cent and steelmaker Hoa Phat Group (HPG) was down 0.7 per cent. All are among the top 10 largest companies by market capitalisation and liquidity on the HCM Stock Exchange.

The market breadth was relatively positive as demand for shares was good, even at high price ranges that showed solid investor confidence, Tran Duc Anh, a stock analyst at Bao Viet Securities Co, wrote in yesterday’s report.

“Investors’ concerns about the Fed’s hiking of interest rates or portfolio rearrangement of exchange-traded funds have passed, but the market will likely experience several correction sessions before founding a new price range,” Anh said.

Foreign investors continued to offload local shares but the net sell value was modest at just VND9.3 billion in the two markets. — VNS