Vietnamese stock markets ended down on Thursday morning, returning to its short-term downward trend following yesterday’s strong boost from outstanding large-cap corporate earnings.

The benchmark VN Index on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange dropped 0.41 per cent to close at 911.03 points.

The southern market index gained substantially – 2.93 per cent – on Wednesday.

The HNX Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange lost 1.18 per cent to end at 104.11 points, putting an end to its two-day increase of 4.1 per cent.

Nearly 97.6 million shares were traded on the two exchanges, worth VND2.23 trillion (US$99 million).

The market sentiment returned to negative territory on Thursday morning on worries over the market’s short-term outlook.

Some analysts have pointed out the Vietnamese stock market would remain volatile in the final two months of 2018 as rising trade, political and economic tensions dampen investor confidence across the globe.

In addition, after large-cap companies reported their earnings for the third quarter, the earnings season has entered its last stage with most expectations having been put in those large-cap firms.

Large-cap firms performed badly on Thursday morning, pulling the VN30 Index down 1.03 per cent to 892.26 points.

Of the 30 largest stocks by market capitalisation in the VN30 basket, 23 declined, including property developer Vingroup (VIC), PetroVietnam Gas (GAS), steel producer Hoa Phat (HPG) and Petrolimex (PLX).

The afternoon trading session starts at 1pm. — VNS