Shares saw big losses at the close of the market on May 12, dragged down by blue chips. Between the two bourses, the number of declining stocks tripled that of advancing ones.

On the Hochiminh Stock Exchange, the VN-Index declined by 1.32 percent to end the session at 544.41 points.

Large-cap stocks plummeted with heavyweight shares like Hoang Anh Gia Lai Co (HAG), Masan Group (MSN) and Hoa Phat Group (HPG) dropping between 3-4.3 percent. Others, including PV Gas (GAS), Vinamilk (VNM), VinGroup (VIC) and bank stocks, also closed in red.

The VN30 which tracks the top 30 shares by market value and liquidity, dived 1.45 percent to finish the day at 571 points.

"Cash flows in the market are still somewhat low. A strong fluctuation between each session shows that investors are cautious about the current trading risks," an analyst at Bao Viet Securities Co (BVSC) wrote in an online report.

According to analysts, there will not be a lot of available investor information in May and that may reduce the interest of big investors.

"It's difficult to seek short-term profits in the current context as the market is strongly segmented. The market is tending to move up-and-down and will be accompanied by low liquidity in the coming sessions," they said.

Total market volume was down by 23 percent from the previous day, with 80 million shares worth 1.39 trillion VND (64.1 million USD).

Real estate company FLC Group (FLC) was the most active stock with 6.8 million shares, rising 1 percent in value to close the session at 10,000 VND a share.

On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index hit a 2015 low at 79.15 points, a decrease of 0.76 percent from My 11. The HNX30, the tracker of the 30 stocks with the highest liquidity, also slipped 1.08 percent to finish at 148.15 points.

Liquidity was little changed from the previous session at 43.6 million shares worth 451.5 billion VND (20.8 million USD).

Sai Gon- Hanoi Bank (SHB) continued to be the most active code with 10.6 million shares traded. Its price declined 1.3 percent to close at 7,800 VND each.

Foreign investors started to sell out after a long net buying streak. They unloaded shares worth 28.15 billion VND (1.3 million USD) in the southern market on May 12. However, they remained net buyers in Hanoi with a buy value of 6.53 billion VND (301,000 USD).-VNA