Vietnamese shares retreated on Thursday morning as investors were concerned with the current volatility in the global market and the steep decline in oil prices.

The benchmark VN Index on HCM Stock Exchange dropped 1.22 per cent to close at 1,027.82 points. It had soared 2.86 per cent on Wednesday.

The HNX Index on Ha Noi Stock Exchange lost 1.37 per cent to end at 117.98 points, steeping back from the previous 3.45 per cent increase.

The UPCOM Index on the Unlisted Public Company Market (UPCoM) edged down 0.27 per cent to stand at 56.61 points. It gained 3.3 per cent on Wednesday.

More than 126.8 million shares, worth VND2.67 trillion (US$119 million), were traded on Thursday morning.

The market was dominated by declining stocks, which outstripped gainers by 310 to 215.

Investors continued to remain mostly unconfident in market trading as global markets have been experiencing strong volatility.

Such poor market sentiment pulled down 17 of the 20 sectors in the stock market, according to data on vietstock.vn.

Among the worst-performing industries were energy, financial banking, real estate and agriculture.

The energy sector was also affected by a steep decline in oil prices. Brent crude was down 0.34 per cent to trade at $65.29 a barrel in the morning.

Brent crude price has fallen 6.3 per cent in the past one week.

The agriculture sector was brought down by negative trading of Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group and its sub-unit HAGL Agrico.

The two companies have been warned of being delisted by HCM Stock Exchange if they fail to submit annual financial reports on time for a third consecutive year.

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