Shares inched lower for a second straight day, weighed down by banks and oil companies.
The benchmark VN-Index on the HCM Stock Exchange edged down 0.04 percent at closing time, finishing at 590.2 points on October 21. The Index decreased 0.7 percent on October 20.
On the smaller bourse in Hanoi, the HNX-Index extended losses by another 0.2 percent to end the session at 80.8 points. It slipped 0.5 percent on October 20.
Overall market conditions were negative with 33.6 percent of a total of 679 trading stocks declined and 22.5 percent advanced.
"The falling of the VN-Index and HNX-Index in late trading indicates that investors may be losing patience with the market," said Nguyen Quoc Truong, an analyst at BIDV Securities Co.
Truong said the rally earlier this month was mainly due to positive effects from the successful conclusion of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade agreement and it was possible that the Index would fall back to 575 points if there were no more good news released in the market.
Bank and oil shares were among the biggest losers. Five of nine listed banks lost value while only two advanced. Military Bank (MBB) and Saigon-Hanoi Bank (SHB) declined 1.4 percent and others were down less than 1 percent.
Large-cap oil and gas companies like PV Gas (GAS), PetroVietnam Technical Services Corp (PVS) and PetroVietnam Southern Gas Corp (PGS) also lost around 1 percent.
US benchmark crude West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fell 1.9 percent while Brent crude slipped 1.5 percent when the Vietnamese markets closed.
On the other end of spectrum, shares of auto dealers rose on the bright prospect of third-quarter earnings.
Three auto shares including Truong Long Auto & Technology Co (HTL), TMT Automobile Co (TMT) and Saigon General Service Corp (SVC) hit the daily limit increase of 7 percent while Hoang Huy Investment Services Corp (HHS) rose 2.9 percent.
Of these companies, Hoang Huy on October 21 reported a 42.3 percent rise in revenue in the third quarter to 751 billion VND (33.5 million USD) while its net profit more than doubled from the same period of last year, reaching 81.2 billion VND (3.6 million USD).
On October 20, Truong Long Auto also posted an impressive earnings result with a third-quarter net profit rising 228 percent year-on-year to 39.7 billion VND (1.8 million USD). The company attributed the result to a jump on the sale of trucks and passenger cars.
A total of nearly 140 million shares worth 2.24 trillion VND (100 million USD) were traded in the two markets by the end of the session.-VNA
Vietnamese shares rose slightly on both local exchanges on October 16 as property stocks gained following reports that forecast the real estate market will receive more foreign investment.
Shares rose for a third day on October 19 after dairy producer Vinamilk said it will seek to sell its controlling government stake to foreign investors.
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With the current trading band of +/- 5%, the ceiling rate applicable for commercial banks during the day is 26,276 VND/USD and the floor rate 23,774 VND/USD.
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The group also placed among the Top 5 energy companies in Southeast Asia and secured the top spot among the largest Vietnamese enterprises featured on the list.
An offshore platform. (Photo: VNA)
