Shares failed to retain gains on both stock exchanges on March 18.
On the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, the VN-Index closed at 479.13 points, falling 0.46 percent.
Around one-third of the listed stocks added value, while 76 codes tumbled and 124 finished unchanged.
Market value reached 809.7 billion VND (38.5 million USD) on a volume of 49.1 million shares.
Meanwhile, among blue chips, over half of the 30 leading shares tracked
by the VN30-Index fell, including insurer Bao Viet (BVH), food
processor Masan (MSN), property developer Vingroup (VIC) and Vietcombank
(VCB).
Only seven of these large-cap shares managed to rise. The index overall slid 0.8 percent to 548.72 points.
On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index shed nearly 1.3 percent to 61.26 points.
Losers overwhelmed gainers by 141-62 points.
As 38.9 million shares changed hands, trading value fetched 311.67 billion VND (14.8 million USD).
The HNX30-Index, composed of the exchange’s top shares, also dropped more than 2 percent, standing at 117.90 points.
Caution among investors remained, especially after the portfolio revision of exchange-traded funds on March 15.
Meanwhile, according to a survey conducted by the website vietstock.vn,
56 percent of respondents said they believed that the market would
decline.-VNA