Vietnam’s benchmark was dragged down a further 3.93 percent Tuesday as the vigorous buying power last month has now weakened.

VN-Index, which tracks 180 companies and four mutual funds on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, dropped 22.06 points to 539.65. Around 69.6 million shares worth VND3.2 trillion (US$179.3 million) changed hands.

Fear dominates the market as 11 companies on the index advanced and 173 dropped.

According to some analysts, investors have also been discouraged by warnings that securities lending is going to be contained.

Mekong Fisheries Joint Stock Co. (AAM), based in the Mekong Delta’s Can Tho City, was the biggest loser on the southern market Tuesday, losing 32.10 percent.

The Hanoi-based Vietnam Mechanization Electrification & Construction Joint Stock Co. (MCG) and the HCM City-based industrial refrigeration company Searefico (SRF) both leapt by the maximum five percent allowed by the exchange.

Saigon Securities Inc., Vietnam’s biggest brokerage, returned to the spot of most active shares with 5.37 million traded on the city’s bourse. Saigon Commercial Bank, or Sacombank, (STB) came next with 4.5 million shares changing hands and Refrigeration Electrical Engineering Corp. (REE) in HCM City with nearly 3.5 million.

The northern market also saw another retreat as the Hanoi-based HNX-Index continued to lose ground, dropping 4.97 points, 2.64 percent, to close at 183.05. More than 33.65 million shares worth VND1.32 trillion were traded.

The UPCoM-Index also fell by 0.25 points, 0.36 percent, to 69.84. A total of VND1.34 billion was spent trading 111,020 shares.

On the global markets, US stocks have gained but investors were concerned about warnings that stocks are vulnerable to a steep pullback. Since mid-October, fresh doubts about the economy have hurt the US market and many foreign equity markets, Tribune said.