On the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, the VN-Index fell to a two-month lowat 565.33 points, down 2.58 per cent from the previous session.
Blue chips lost momentum, driving down the market. All 30 shares bymarket value and liquidity shed their value, pushing the VN30 down 3.32per cent to end at 621.13 points.
Heavyweight sharesincluding Bao Viet Holdings (BVH), Masan Group (MSN), VinGroup (VIC), PVGas (GAS), Vinamilk (VNM) and Phu My Fertiliser all tumbled. Of these,MSN was the biggest loser with share prices falling 6.3 percent to just89,500 VND (4.24 USD) a share.
The market valuedecreased 10 percent from April 16, reaching nearly 2 trillion VND (94.8million USD) on a total volume of 117 million shares and fundcertificates.
The continuing decline stirred panicamong investors and triggered a rush to unload shares. Many offered tosell at reduced prices, driving many share values to the floor.
As many as 448 of the total 682 codes on both exchanges lost value, 127 of them significantly.
"This has shocked many new investors. The market has kept rising sinceSeptember last year that attracted big money inflows," said analysts offinancial website vietstock.vn.
Real estate developerFLC Group (FLC) was again the most active code on the southern boursewith 11.2 million shares traded. Its price slid 6.6 percent to settle at12,800 VND a share.
Tan Tao Investment IndustryCorporation (ITA) came second on a total trading volume of 6.9 millionshares, slipping 6.5 percent to end at 8,700 VND.
In Hanoi , the HNX-Index tumbled 3.62 percent to close at 80.58 points.
The HNX30, tracking the top 30 shares on the bourse, also went down5.29 percent to end at 162.99 points, the biggest drop in its history.
Trading improved, however, as the volume was up 20percent to 67 million shares, worth 686 billion VND (32.5 million USD),more than 10 percent over April 16.
PetroVietnamConstruction Corp (PVX) was the most active code with 11.1 millionshares traded but its value went down 9.43 percent to close at 4,800 VNDper share. Saigon-Ha Noi Bank (SHB) followed with 8.2 million shareschanging hands at 10,100 VND each, down 7.34 percent from the previoussession.
In contrast to local investors' moves, foreigninvestors stopped net selling and returned as net buyers on bothexchanges on April 18. They picked up shares worth a combined 94.23billion VND (4.5 million USD) from the two markets.-VNA