Shares slipped on Thursday morning after major heavyweight shares lost value on rising investor caution.

The benchmark VN Index on the HCM Stock Exchange reversed Wednesday’s gain, slipping by 0.2 per cent to close at 772.3 points.

Large-cap stocks slumped, with 17 of the top 30 largest shares by market value and liquidity declining; only eight advanced.

Financial stocks, including banks, securities firms and insurers, were also on the defensive side. Major losers include Vietcombank (VCB), Vietinbank (CTG), BIDV (BID), Military Bank (MBB), Bao Viet Holdings (BVH) and Saigon Securities Inc (SSI).

Steel shares, which buoyed the market on Wednesday, also fell on Thursday morning, with the two biggest listed steel firms, Hoa Phat Group (HPG) and Hoa Sen Group (HSG), going down by 1.2 per cent and 1.4 per cent, respectively.

On the positive side, food-beverage stocks such as Vinamilk (VNM) and brewery Sabeco (SAB) supported the market.

On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the HNX Index went down 0.5 per cent to 101.24 points.

Liquidity soared, with a total of 170 million shares worth VND4 trillion (US$176.2 million) being traded, up 45.3 per cent in volume and 111 per cent in value compared to Wednesday morning’s trade.

The afternoon session starts at 1pm. — VNS