Shares dropped further on both national stock exchanges in the December 5 afternoon session.

On the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange, the VN-Index lost 0.17 percent, falling to 510.03 points, as the benchmark index continued to fluctuate in the resistance band of 510-513 points.

With more than 103.881 million shares traded, total trading value reached 1.377 trillion VND (65.57 USD million).

The VN30-Index, tracking the southern city's top shares by capitalisation and liquidity, lost 0.3 percent to 569.18 points, with losers overwhelming gainers by 16-6.

Logistics company Gemardetp (GMD) increased 1,800 VND (0.085 USD) to 34,000 VND (1.62 USD) per share, and Vinamilk (VNM) added 1,000 VND (0.049 USD) to 142,000 VND (6.76 USD) per share. Four others rose by 100-300 VND (0.0049-0.014 USD) per share.

The gains, however, failed to support the VN30-Index when PetroVietnam Drilling (PVD) lost 1,000 VND (0.049 USD), FPT Group (FPT), a technology company, lost 700 VND (0.03 USD), Vietcombank (VCB) fell 600 VND (0.048 USD), and Masan Group (MSN) and Bao Viet Group (BVH) lost 500 VND (0.023 USD) per share.

Other losers included big names such as Vietinbank (CTG), Hoa Phat Group (HPG), Hoa Sen Group (HSG), HCM City Infrastructure Investment (CII) and Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group (HAG).

Further, the cash flow into blue chips slowed on December 5 while increasing strongly into stocks of securities and the real estate sector, pushing these stocks higher.

According to FPT Securities, cash flow was rotating around different stock groups with optimism about the market at the end of the year.

Of note, the afternoon session witnessed strong selling and the VN-Index sometimes dropped to 508 points.

Overall, 113 stocks lost while 102 others managed to increase.

The HNX-Index on the Hanoi Exchange slid slightly by 0.07 percent to 66.07 points.

The HNXFF-Index, comprised of stocks with a minimum free-float rate of 5 percent, gained 0.01 percent to 66.19 points, on an upward trend since the beginning of the week, when it was launched.

On the northern bourse, more than 43.35 million shares changed hands, with a total value of 324.58 billion VND (15.45 million USD).

The VN-30 Index, composed of the 30 largest shares, fell 0.28 percent to 125.36 points.

Vietnam Investment Securities also said it expects strong cash flow into the market to boost the VN-Index and HNX-Index to surpass the resistance points of 113 points and 66 points, respectively.-VNA