The benchmark VN-Index on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange dropped 0.40 per cent to close at 970.26 points.

The VN-Index has lost total 1.40 per cent since the beginning of September.

More than 161.4 million shares were traded on the southern market, worth VND3.9 trillion (US$168.4 million).

Not only large-cap stocks, even mid-cap and small-cap stocks also lost ground on Tuesday.

The VN30-Index, the VNMID-Index and the VNSML-Index were down between 0.29 per cent and 0.98 per cent.

It indicated the market sentiment was quite bearish right now, according to securities companies.

The Vietnamese stock market continued struggling with its short-term decline path, forcing investors to seek stronger stop-loss actions, MB Securities Co (MBS) said in its daily report.

Investors took a cautious stance as production reports from China gave worse signals about a global economic slowdown despite efforts of central banks to boost the world’s economy.

Petroleum and energy and insurance-finance stocks were the two groups that hit Vietnamese market hard on Tuesday.

The two sector indices plunged 3.2 per cent and 2.8 per cent, respectively.

Petroleum stocks declined sharply despite the rallies of global crude, led by PetroVietnam Drilling and Well Services (PVD) losing 3.9 per cent.

Brent crude on Tuesday gained 0.43 per cent to trade at $62.86 a barrel. It has surged nearly 8 per cent in September.

Other industries that also performed poorly included retail, real estate, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, rubber and plastics, and construction.

Meanwhile, banking, food and beverage, and agriculture were among few sectors that advanced to cushion the market.

According to BIDV Securities Corp (BSC), consumer staple stocks are highly defensive and likely to make good earnings in the future.

Companies boosting this sector were Pan Group JSC (PAN), Masan (MSN), Long An Food Processing Export JSC (LAF), and Nafoods Group JSC (NAF).

The stock market still lacks supporting information so it will likely struggle and flatter in the next trading days, Sai Gon-Ha Noi Securities (SHS) said in a note.

As the VN-Index was kept above the 970 point level, it was expected to bounce back technically on Wednesday thanks to strong purchases for stocks that had been hit hard since the beginning of the month, SHS added.

On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index was down 0.87 per cent to end at 99.97 points.

The northern market index has lost nearly 2.3 per cent in September.

Nearly 37.8 million shares were traded on the Ha Noi market, worth VND559 billion.
Source: VNS