OREANDA-NEWS. March 10, 2015. Vietnam's benchmark VN Index fell 0.4 percent at the break on Monday, with nearly half of the stocks losing ground, led by the banking and energy sectors.

PetroVietNam Gas, Vietnam's top firm by market value, fell 1.26 percent, while Hanoi-based Vietcombank , the country's biggest lender by capitalisation, declined 1.61 percent.

Steel producer Hoa Phat Group outperformed the market to climb 3.18 percent, after the firm said it will seek shareholders' approval on a cash dividend of 1,000 dong (\\$0.05) per share, a company statement said.

Hoa Phat also plans to pay one share for every five held in the second quarter this year as part of its 2014 dividend payment, the Hanoi-based company said in the statement posted on its website on Friday.