Stocks declined on the last day of June, reversing the previous day's gains, with sluggish trades through most of the sessions on the two national stock exchanges.

Negative information affected trading included the Government's decision to raise the inflation target for the year from 15 percent to 17 percent.

On the HCM Stock Exchange, the VN-Index closed at 432.54 points, a loss of 0.47 percent from the previous day. The value trades dropped 12 percent to just 410 billion VND (19.9 million USD), with negotiated transactions accounting for over 28 percent, or 116 billion VND (5.6 million USD), of the total market value.

Among the 10 leading shares by capitalisation, only shares of real estate developer Vincom (VIC) saw gains, ending the session up 2.2 percent to 137,000 VND(6.65 USD) per share.

Saigon Securities Inc (SSI) was again the most-active share, with 1.45 million shares changing hands, but it lost another 2.2 percent of its value to close at 17,700 VND (0.86 USD).

Meanwhile, shares of seafood processor International Development & Investment Co (IDI), debuted on June 30, but they dropped from a reference price of VND18,000 to their floor price of 14,400 VND (0.70 UASD) per share.

On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index also declined by 0.67 percent from the previous day's close to 74.35 points. However, the value of trades increased 13 percent to 316 billion VND (15.3 million USD), with 29.6 million shares changing hands. Losers outnumbered gainers by 171-75.

Kim Long Securities (KLS) was the most-active share nationwide with 3.23 million traded, but it slumped another 1.8 percent to close at 10,900 VND (0.53 USD) per share.

Foreign investors became net buyers on both markets yesterday, picking up a net of just 8 billion VND (388,300 USD) worth of shares./.