Viet Nam’s benchmark VN Index extended loss on Monday morning, driven down by insurance companies and property developers.

The VN Index on HCM Stock Exchange edged down 0.64 per cent to close at 1,149.73 points. It had lost a total of 3.5 per cent last week.

Nearly 83 million shares, worth VND2.48 trillion (US$110.3 million), were traded on the southern exchange.

Gaining stocks were outnumbered by decliners on a ratio of 108 to 154, while 49 stocks ended flat, proving the benchmark index had suffered from a strong profit-taking pressure.

Insurance companies and property developers were among the worst-performing stocks after they had made huge gains in the previous weeks. The two industry indices were down by 1.6 per cent and 1.4 per cent, respectively.

The insurance-finance sector was affected by the falls of Bao Viet Holdings, BIDV Insurance Corp. and Bao Minh Insurance Co.

Among the real estate shares that declined were Novaland, Sacomreal, Dat Xanh Real Estate Service and Construction Corp. and Vingroup.

On the other hand, bank stocks were among the positive gainers to lift the market, including MBBank, Eximbank and HDBank.

The HNX Index on Ha Noi stock Exchange inched up 0.09 per cent to end at 133.46 points after having suffered a 3.4 per cent decline last week.

The UPCOM Index on the Unlisted Public Company Market dropped 0.70 per cent to close at 58.91 points. It had fallen by 2.2 per cent in all five trading sessions last week.

The afternoon trading session starts at 1pm. — VNS