Local stocks brought down by selling as VN-Index nears 1,000 points
Local stocks brought down by selling as VN-Index nears 1,000 points
Vietnamese shares edged down on Tuesday morning as investors began realising their profits after the market’s recent rallies. 
The benchmark VN-Index on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange slid 0.46 per cent to 989.66 points.
The VN-Index had gained total 4.56 per cent in the previous five trading days.
The market was hit by increased profit taking after the VN-Index approached the resistance of 1,000 points.
The large-cap tracker VN30-Index fell 0.60 per cent to 954.26 points.
Twenty-two of the 30 largest stocks by market capitalisation and trading liquidity declined while only six increased.
Among large-cap decliners were PetroVietnam Gas (GAS), steel producer Hoa Phat (HPG), consumer firm Masan (MSN), aviation company Vietjet (VJC) and petrol business Petrolimex (PLX).
Profit-taking pressure also hit mid-cap and penny stocks.
Mid-cap and small-cap trackers VNMID-Index and VNSML-Index slipped 0.08 per cent and 0.33 per cent, respectively.
On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index fell 0.52 per cent to 147.41 points.
The northern market index had increased by total 3.36 per cent in the previous five days.
Nearly 352 million shares were traded on the two exchanges, worth VND7.16 trillion (US$308 million).
The afternoon trading session starts at 1pm.
