The VN-Index on the HCM Stock Exchange dropped 0.38 percent to close at 952.77 points after gaining a total of 3.1 percent in the previous four sessions.

The HNX-Index on the Hanoi Stock Exchange lost another 0.56 percent to end at 105.56 points. The northern market also lost 0.56 percent on July 31.

More than 249.3 million shares were traded on the two exchanges, worth 5 trillion VND (225.5 million USD). The figures were down 11.7 percent in volume and 1.1 percent in value compared to July 31.

Large-cap stocks finished the day in negative territory with the blue chip VN30 Index down 0.54 percent at 939.31 points and 17 of the 30 largest stocks by market capitalisation declining.

The retail sector index fell 2.1 percent, and the agricultural sector index dropped 2.6 percent, data on vietstock.vn showed. The figures for banking, insurance and brokerage industries were down between 0.1 percent and 0.5 percent.

Among the decliners were digital retailer Mobile World (MWG), Phu Nhuan Jewellery JSC (PNJ), Vietinbank (CTG), MBBank (MBB), Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAG) and its sub-unit HAGL Agrico (HNG).

Other stocks that performed poorly and had negative impacts on the stock market included logistics firm Gemadept (GMD), IT group FPT Corp (FPT), DHG Pharmaceutical JSC (DHG) and budget carrier Vietjet (VJC).

Net foreign selling was another element driving the market down on August 1. Foreign investors sold 226.25 billion VND, about four times the figure from the previous two sessions.-VNA