Shares in Vietcombank, Vietnam's largest partly private lender, jumped by the maximum 20 percent allowed on their domestic debut on Tuesday, but the small size of its listing limited the impact on the main index, which ended lower.
The stock closed at VND60,000 in a partial listing of the Hanoi-based bank on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange, at the top of a range of investors' bids that started at VND59,000, Reuters data showed.
"Vietcombank's listing had no influence on the market at all because the bank only listed part of the IPO shares so its market capitalisation is very small," said Bui Hai Nguyen, a trader at Hanoi-based Bao Viet Securities.
The exchange's VN Index closed down 2.63 percent at 448.29 points as domestic investors took profits. The market has risen 42 percent this year.
Vietcombank, the first state-run bank in Vietnam to have an initial public offering, raised US$652 million from its IPO in December 2007.
The lender, also known as the Commercial Joint Stock Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam, is now valued at around $4 billion, based on its share close.
Stock market regulators have said foreign investors could buy all 112.3 million shares now listed, which represent 9.2 percent of the total shares of the lender, below the government's foreign ownership cap of 30 percent of a Vietnamese bank.
Vietcombank's listing after the June 25 debut by Vietnam's top insurer, Bao Viet Holdings, and ahead of VietInbank scheduled for July 16 could give the market a fillip after a slump last year.
But dealers said Vietcombank shares, along with those in Bao Viet Holdings, could face selling pressure.
"Vietcombank's starting price is high and after the first few 'market welcoming' sessions, it will pull down the index in the longer term," Nguyen said.
Most financial shares lost ground on Tuesday after the central bank announced it would keep its base rate steady in July at 7 percent.
Bao Viet Holdings closed up 4.95 percent at VND53,000, but Saigon Securities dropped 4.47 percent to VND64,000 and Sacombank fell 2.78 percent to VND34,900.
On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, Asia Commercial Bank, Vietnam's largest listed firm by capitalisation, eased 1.2 percent to close at VND49,000.
Fitch Ratings downgraded Vietnam's local currency sovereign rating to BB-minus from BB on Tuesday, citing sustained fiscal decline and structural economic weaknesses.
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