National stocks posted gains for most of trading hours on June 27 but finally declined again. Trading value did not improve.

On the HCM Stock Exchange, the VN-Index shed nearly 0.3 percent, standing at 418.04 points.

Some 43.9 million shares changed hands, worth a total value of 739.9 billion VND (35.2 million USD), slightly decreasing over June 27's figure.

Only one third of the 30 leading shares in terms of capitalisation and liquidity concluded the session up, as more blue chips began to fall in afternoon trading.

The VN30, therefore, lost 0.2 percent to 492.77 points.

Although telecom device provider Sacom (SAM) saw only 1.87 million shares change hands, it was the most heavily traded stock on the southern bourse.

On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index dropped steeper by 0.6 percent, reaching 70.70 points.

Trading was sluggish, declining 27 percent compared to the previous session. Market value and volume reached just 325.16 billion VND (15.4 million USD) and 34.8 million shares. PetroVietnam Construction Co (PVX) was the most active stock nationwide with around 4 million shares exchanged.

However, positive assessments from foreign investors about the Vietnamese market potential were continuously published.

ASEAN Investment Management and PXP Vietnam Asset Management predicted the VN-Index will jump by 25-35 per cent in the last 6 months of this year. While emerging stock markets were struggling to maintain their rally, the Vietnamese market climbed 20 percent to become the most powerful market in Asia thanks to improved economic data and the stability of the dong.

ASEAN Investment Management CEO David Roes told CNBC that Vietnam 's stock market will continue to achieve the strongest growth among ASEAN countries in the next three years. Meanwhile, according to emerging market fund manager Mark Mobius, as the Vietnamese market had low liquidity, any investment could make a huge difference to the market.

Foreign investors were sellers in HCM City by a margin of 11 billion VND (523,800 USD), but they concluded on June 27 as buyers in Hanoi , picking a net of 500 million VND (23,800 USD).-VNA