Vietnamese shares sank on Tuesday morning as investors continued to react negatively to the selloff occurring in the global market.

The benchmark VN Index on the HCM Stock Exchange plunged 5.87 per cent or 61.61 points to end at 987.10 points.

This fall of the VN Index is its worst-ever decline in terms of both score and percentage.

The benchmark index had plummeted 5.1 per cent on Monday. The two-day negative trading has erased all of VN Index’s gains made since the beginning of the year.

Prior to Monday, the VN Index had increased by as much as 13.3 per cent since December 29, 2017.

The minor HNX Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange dipped 5.85 per cent to close at 111.99 points. It had dropped 4.06 per cent on Monday.

The northern market index had previously risen as much as 14 per cent since mid-December 2017.

The UPCOM Index on the Unlisted Public Company Market (UPCOM) lost 5.25 per cent to stand at 53.94 points.

It had dropped 4.2 per cent in the previous three sessions combined.

More than 315 million shares, worth nearly VND7.2 trillion (US$319.5 million), were traded on the local exchanges.

Declining stocks continued outnumbering gainers by a nearly 10:1 ratio (614 against 64), while 50 other stocks ended flat.

Among all stocks, blue chips continued to underperform with the rise of selling pressure, with 29 of the 30 largest ones in the VN30 Index declining.

Of these 29 stocks, 13 declined by their daily decreasing limit of seven per cent and 6.9 per cent, including FLC Faros Construction, petrol dealer Petrolimex, budget carrier Vietjet, food producer Masan and insurer Bao Viet Holdings.

All 20 industries ended in the negative territory, with the worst-hit being banks, securities firms, insurance companies, energy businesses and property developers.

According to analysts, the current turbulence in the stock market is due to the global selloff caused by investors’ worries that the US central bank may hike interest rates more than three times in 2018.

Additional reasons for the current negative trading are the tightened policy on margin lending, which is expected to take effect in March, and the prolonged rally of local stocks, analysts said.

The current situation is likely to continue for the next one or two sessions, and the VN Index will continue to decline until the end of the week, analysts predict.

The afternoon trading session starts at 1pm. --- VNS