An escalating trade fight between the United States and China have rocked global stock markets in recent sessions, sending Vietnamese shares to a reverse after Monday’s rally.

The benchmark VN Index on the HCM Stock Exchange fell by 1.36 per cent to close at 977.00 points. It had gained 0.75 per cent on Monday.

The HNX Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange lost 1.42 per cent after inching up 0.01 per cent on Monday, closing at 110.40 points.

Liquidity plunged, with more than 97.6 million shares worth VND1.9 trillion (US$83 million) traded on the two local exchanges, down by 57 per cent in volume and 50 per cent in value compared to Monday’s session.

Declining stocks dominated the two indices, with losers outnumbering gainers 280 to 102, indicating a negative market breadth.

Fourteen of 20 sectors of the stock market slumped and continued to underperform, including the banking-finance, property development, energy, and food and beverage sectors.

Large-cap stocks were on the negative side as the VN30 Index, which tracks the 30 largest stocks by market capitalisation, fell by 1.66 per cent to 965.80 points.

Among the declining stocks were the Bank for Investment and Development of Viet Nam, Vietcombank, Saigon Securities Inc., and budget carrier Vietjet, as well as real estate firm Novaland and steel producer Hoa Phat.

The afternoon trading session starts at 1pm. – VNS