An investor points at stock prices on a screen at a brokerage
in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran

Vietnam’s benchmark VN-Index slipped 0.13 percent to 1,339.70 points Tuesday as HCMC prolongs social distancing for another 15 days while the number of new Covid-19 cases remains high.

The index stayed in the green in the morning and started to dip in the early afternoon. It closed nearly 2 points lower.

Trading value on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), on which the index is based, plunged 15 percent to VND19.66 trillion ($867.41 million).

HCMC will extend its social distancing order until the end of this month as thousands of new cases are confirmed each day.

The VN30 basket, comprising the 30 largest capped stocks, saw 18 tickers in the red, led by PNJ of Phu Nhuan Jewelry with a 3.3 percent drop.

POW of electricity producer Petrovietnam Power Corporation fell 3 percent, while SSI of leading brokerage SSI Securities Corporation gained 2.5 percent.

CTG of state-owned lender VietinBank continued its slide, which began in June, with a 2 percent drop.

VJC of budget airline Vietjet fell 1.7 percent, and HDB of HDBank lost 1.6 percent.

Seven blue chip tickers gained, led by MSN of conglomerate Masan Group with a 3.8 percent drop.

Trading volume of the ticker rose 61 percent from the average of the last 10 sessions despite reports of the Government of Singapore reducing its ownership in the company by a 1.65 percent stake.

SAB of brewer Sabeco gained 2.8 perct, and VRE of retail real estate arm Vincom Retail rose 1.4 percent.

Foreign investors were net sellers for the 13th session in a row to the tune of VND738 billion with strongest pressure on HPG of steelmaker Hoa Phat Group and VCB of state-owned lender Vietcombank.

The HNX-Index for stocks on the Hanoi Stock Exchange, home to mid and small caps, fell 0.34 percent while the UPCoM-Index for the Unlisted Public Companies Market lost 0.26 percent.